title: Intraoperative use of high-field MRI in hypothalamic hamartomas associated with epilepsy: clinico-pathological presentation of five adult patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypothalamic harmartomas (HHs) are either occasionally associated with medically intractable epileptic syndromes or precocious puberty. Due to the extraordinary location and the expansive intra-axial growth, surgical resection is difficult and challenging without causing severe neurological, hypothalamic or endocrinological deficits, which account for higher mortality and morbidity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a series of five adult patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who had been operated on for HH using neuronavigation and intraoperative 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this retrospective investigation, we compared our surgical strategy and postoperative results to existing series.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During surgery, we identified remnant HH in the first intraoperative MRI control scan in three out of five patients. After re-segmentation of the residual lesion using neuronavigation, complete resection was achieved in two of the three patients as confirmed by final intraoperative and late follow-up MRI, raising the rate of total resections to four out of five patients. Two patients died during the observation period. One patient suffered from a permanent third nerve palsy and one from a transient monoparesis of the left arm. New endocrinological disturbances included diabetes insipidus centralis in two and secondary hypothyroidism and hypogonadism in one patient. Four out of five patients had favourable seizure control (Engel I or II) after 64.8 (34-83) months of mean follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuronavigation and intraoperative MRI are valuable tools to encounter difficulties while performing surgery in patients with HHs. Intraoperative resection control increases the amount of maximum resection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany, bjoern.sommer@uk-erlangen.de.
authors.forename: Bjoern
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: Sven-Martin
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schlaffer
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coras
authors.forename: Ingmar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Blumcke
authors.forename: Hajo Martinus
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stefan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buchfelder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007027:Hypothalamic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000379:methods*; D038361:Neuronavigation / Q000379:methods; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult