Keep looking for a reason
BMJ 2000; 320 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7243.1187 (Published 29 April 2000) Cite this as: BMJ 2000;320:1187- Michael Powell, consultant neurosurgeon.
- London
Sarah was 22 when she presented with the dreadful signs of a large space-occupying lesion deep in the dominant parietal lobe. She was drowsy with a severe headache, had severe dysphasia, and there was a significant rightsided weakness. The computed tomography said it all;a malignant intrinsic tumour at the trigone of the lateral ventricle, probably a glioblastoma.
She rallied a little on steroids overnight and so I performed a craniotomy, having suitably warned her worried family of the likely outcome and prognosis. I found a very bloody tumour that had some definition from the surrounding brain. The pathologist told me that the frozen section showed a highly malignant brain tumour, consistent with the radiologist's diagnosis.
The survival from this type of tumour in this position is measured in months, and …
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