Unilateral hypoglossal nerve and recurrent laryngeal nerve weakness following endotracheal intubation

Endotracheal intubation with cuffed tube is a safe procedure associated with few complications in majority of patients. Immediate complications are primarily associated with problems dring intubation and extubation while early and late complications represent the short- and long-term effets of epithelial trauma. True vocal cord paralysis may follow endotracheal intubation and be the result of peripheral nerve damage. This damage can occur as the result of compressing the nerve between an inflated endotracheal tube cuff and the overlying thyroid cartilage.1 The hypoglossal nerve (12th cranial nerve) is motor nerve. It supplys the tongue muscle and help in speech, Food manipulation, and swallowing. Hypoglossal nerve injury following endotracheal intubation under general anesthesia is a rare complication and can cause symptoms, such as dysarthria and dysphagia.2

Delayed diagnosis of odontoid peg osteomyelitis with bilateral X and XII cranial nerve palsies

Upper cervical osteomyelitis is rare. Its presenting features are fever and neck pain, but rarely it can involve lower nerves. MRI is the main imaging modality, but it is difficult to interpret due to the unique anatomy of C1 and C2 vertebra and complex intervertebral joint. We describe a case of a 67-year-old woman, who presented with the complaint of loss of voice, neck pain and fever for 5 days. Despite repeated imaging of neck, the diagnosis was not reached. As the patient’s condition continued to deteriorate, clinical signs of bilateral 10th and 12th cranial nerve paralysis appeared and lead to a focused workup for base of skull pathology. Discussion with the radiologist helped guide the imaging protocol, which leads to the correct diagnosis being made. Treatment was tailored by blood cultures and available images. Temporary immobilisation with a cervical collar and a total of 12 weeks of antibiotics lead to complete remission.

Hypoglossal canal schwannoma causing isolated left 12th cranial nerve palsy

A 40-year-old woman presented with insidious onset, gradually progressive dysarthria and inability to manoeuvre bolus of food in her mouth while eating. The duration of her symptoms was 3 months. On evaluation, the left half of her tongue was wasted. The tongue deviated to the left on protrusion. There were no clinical features suggestive of involvement of the ipsilateral 9th, 10th or 11th cranial nerves. MRI of the brain showed a large, fusiform lesion in the left hypoglossal canal, extending into the jugular canal. The lesion was surgically excised and found to be a schwannoma.

A Rare Case of Bilateral Spontaneous Intracerebral Haemorrhage Presenting With Left Hemiplegia: A Case Report

Haemorrhage is responsible for around 11% of stroke syndrome. Haemorrhage usually occurs at a single site. However, it can be at multiple sites in some specific conditions i.e. coagulopathy, vascular malformation, malignancy etc. A 56-year-old male with left sided hemiplegia was admitted in the rehabilitation ward of RIMS, Imphal. He was hypertensive and was on irregular medication for that. He was also an alcoholic and chronic smoker for last 20 years. Patient was conscious and clinical examination revealed left 7th and 12th cranial nerve involvement with left hemiplegia. Non-contrast CT scan of brain revealed right thalamus and left basal ganglia haemorrhages. Thorough history and investigations did not reveal any aetiology for bilateral haemorrhage. Patient was treated with conservative management and improvement was noticed in serial follow-ups. There are very few case reports about bilateral spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage associated with other diseases like migraine, Japanese encephalitis etc. Cause of bilateral haemorrhage in our case is doubtful.

Resection of pontine cavernous malformation through the pontomedullary sulcus

In this video, we illustrate a right far-lateral craniotomy for resection of a 13-mm cavernous malformation of the pons in a healthy 53-year-old female patient presenting with diplopia and right 6th nerve palsy. The cavernous malformation was surrounded by normal pons, but was within 1 mm of the pontomedullary sulcus. The lesion was exposed from below through a far lateral craniotomy and accessed through the vasoaccessory triangle, superior to olivary nucleus and 12th cranial nerve. The alternative retrosigmoid craniotomy would have involved significant transgression of the middle cerebellar peduncle. The patient had gross-total resection and some temporary increase in her abducens nerve palsy without any complication.The video can be found here: http://youtu.be/f14RR3CHQkw.

Hemilingual Spasm

OBJECTIVE We report on vascular compression syndrome of the 12th cranial nerve (hypoglossal), an occurrence not previously reported, and demonstrate, through corresponding objective electrophysiological evidence, that microvascular decompression of the hypoglossal nerve root can cure hemilingual spasm. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 52-year-old man had lower face muscle twitching and tongue spasms, which worsened with talking, chewing, or emotional stress. Carbamazepine offered only temporary relief, and relief from injections of botulinum toxin was insignificant. He was referred for surgical treatment. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of his posterior fossa contents revealed no obvious evidence of any compressive vessel along the facial nerve, but a compressive vessel along the hypoglossal nerve was apparent. INTERVENTION The presence of preoperative tongue spasms encouraged interoperative monitoring of tongue motor responses. The facial nerve exit zone was explored, but microsurgical inspection of the seventh/eighth cranial nerve complex did not reveal any compressive vessel. However, at the anterolateral aspect of the medulla oblongata, the hypoglossal nerve was clearly compressed and distorted laterally by a large tortuous vertebral artery. When the artery was mobilized away from the nerve, the abnormal late electromyographic response to transcranial electrical stimulation disappeared; immediately after shredded Teflon was interpositioned between the artery and the nerve, the abnormal spontaneous tongue fasciculation also disappeared. The patient has remained spasm free 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSION Hemilingual spasm may be caused by vascular contact/compression along cranial nerve XII at the lower brainstem and belong to the same family of cranial nerve hyperactivity disorders as hemifacial spasm.

Hypoglossal-Facial Anastomosis

The aim of this paper was to report on further experience with a new technique for reanimation of the facial nerve. This procedure allows a straight end-to-side hypoglossal–facial anastomosis without interruption of the 12th cranial nerve or the need for graft interposition. It is technically demanding and time consuming but offers an effective, reliable, and extraordinarily quick means of reinnervating the facial muscles, including the orbicularis oculi muscle, thus avoiding the need for a gold weight in the eyelid or a fascial sling.

End-to-side intrapetrous hypoglossal–facial anastomosis for reanimation of the face

✓ The aim of this paper was to report on further experience with a new technique for reanimation of the facial nerve. This procedure allows a straight end-to-side hypoglossal–facial anastomosis without interruption of the 12th cranial nerve or the need for graft interposition. It is technically demanding and time consuming but offers an effective, reliable, and extraordinarily quick means of reinnervating the facial muscles, including the orbicularis oculi muscle, thus avoiding the need for a gold weight in the eyelid or a fascial sling.