The Surgery of the Skull and BrainRawling, Louis Bathe
Science
The Surgery of the Skull and Brain
Rawling, Louis Bathe
Brain -- Surgery; Skull -- Surgery
3. The fit may remain localized to the region first affected, or, as is
more commonly the case, may spread to other regions. In the latter case
the various motor areas are affected in a certain definite order,
according to their cortical arrangement. Thus, a fit arising from
irritation of the right cortical face-area leads first to twitchings,
then to convulsions, and perhaps finally to paralysis on the
contralateral face-muscles, the movements then spreading from the face
to the upper extremity, and from the arm through the trunk to the lower
extremity. When the fits become generalized, spreading to the opposite
side of the brain, the cortical areas are affected in the reverse
order.
4. The patient should retain consciousness throughout the attack.
5. The fits should not be succeeded by any paresis or paralysis.
Later on, when the fits become more frequent and severe, they lose their
typical Jacksonian characters, the various regions being affected so
rapidly one after the other that all focal symptoms tend to be obscured.
The fits are then often associated with definite loss of consciousness,
and succeeded by paresis or paralysis of the parts primarily affected.
The patient also usually complains of lassitude or headache, this
lasting some hours after the termination of the fit.
Traumatic epilepsy does not always partake of the typical Jacksonian
type. Sometimes the fits are so sudden in onset and violent in character
that, from the first, the more typical features are absent. Again, fits
of the focal or Jacksonian type do not necessarily imply that some
pathological causative agent will be found on exploration. Ordinary
epilepsy sometimes partakes of the focal type. I have myself operated on
three cases of focal epilepsy, deceived by their Jacksonian
characteristics, and found nothing abnormal. On the other hand, in all
these cases definite and permanent improvement was observed subsequent
to the surgical procedures.
It might also be added that encouraging reports are to hand, not only in
cases of idiopathic epilepsy with focal symptoms, but also in cases
without focal symptoms. A decompression operation is carried out on the
basis of Kocher’s statement to the effect that the fit is immediately
preceded by a rise of intracranial pressure, for which a safety-valve
must be supplied--such as is afforded by an intermusculo-temporal
operation of decompression. Whether Kocher’s statement is correct or
not, the fact remains that some cases of idiopathic epilepsy, without
focal symptoms, benefit considerably from operation.
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