Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 14, 2022; 10(2): 725-732
Published online Jan 14, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i2.725
Tension pneumocephalus following endoscopic resection of a mediastinal thoracic spinal tumor: A case report
Chao-Yuan Chang, Cheng-Che Hung, Ju-Mien Liu, Cheng-Di Chiu
Chao-Yuan Chang, Cheng-Che Hung, Cheng-Di Chiu, Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
Ju-Mien Liu, Department of Pathology, Puli Christian Hospital, Nantou 54041, Taiwan
Author contributions: Chiu CD designed the study; Liu JM and Hung CC acquired the patient’s data; Chang CY analyzed and interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript; Chang CY and Chiu CD revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by China Medical University Hospital (No. DMR-107-063).
Informed consent statement: The patient has provided informed consent for publication of this case report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Cheng-Di Chiu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Deputy Director, Department of Neurosurgery, China Medical University Hospital, No. 2 Yu-Der Road, North Area, Taichung, Taiwan 40447, Taiwan. cdchiu4046@gmail.com
Received: August 19, 2021
Peer-review started: August 19, 2021
First decision: November 1, 2021
Revised: November 12, 2021
Accepted: December 7, 2021
Article in press: December 7, 2021
Published online: January 14, 2022
Core Tip

Core Tip: Pneumocephalus is a rare complication that presents during the postoperative period following a thoracoscopic resection of spinal dumbbell tumors. Here, we present a potential method for resolving tension pneumocephalus and present our detailed experiences following the thoracoscopic resection of a posterior mediastinal dumbbell tumor, together with a review of the literature. The risks of experiencing pneumocephalus following thoracoscopic resection for a spinal tumor cannot be neglected because intraoperative repair is difficult to assess.