Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England logoLink to Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
. 2001 May;83(3):215–218.

The realities of postoperative disability and the carer's burden.

G Neil-Dwyer 1, D Lang 1, J Garfield 1
PMCID: PMC2503573  PMID: 11432144

Abstract

Outcome after high-risk, complex neurosurgery for progressive skull base pathology, and its effect on carers, has been examined. Two different outcome measures were used. The Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) assesses overall social capability and dependence of the patient, while the 36 item short-form health survey (SF-36), a generic quality of life measure, can be compared directly with the general population. Overall outcome using the GOS indicated a favourable outcome for 13 of the 17 patients studied. The SF-36 demonstrated that more than half the patients were functioning at a level below the accepted norm. The reasons for this discrepancy and the validity of outcome scales have been analysed. In addition, the effect upon carers, its relevance to assessment of outcome, and the need to involve potential carers in the process of informed consent was stated. Our conclusions are applicable throughout the surgical specialities, and especially to high-risk complex surgery.

Full text

PDF
215

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Al-Mefty O., Fox J. L., Smith R. R. Petrosal approach for petroclival meningiomas. Neurosurgery. 1988 Mar;22(3):510–517. doi: 10.1227/00006123-198803000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bricolo A. P., Turazzi S., Talacchi A., Cristofori L. Microsurgical removal of petroclival meningiomas: a report of 33 patients. Neurosurgery. 1992 Nov;31(5):813–828. doi: 10.1227/00006123-199211000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brooks W. B., Jordan J. S., Divine G. W., Smith K. S., Neelon F. A. The impact of psychologic factors on measurement of functional status. Assessment of the sickness impact profile. Med Care. 1990 Sep;28(9):793–804. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199009000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Quality of life as a new public health measure--Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1993. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1994 May 27;43(20):375–380. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Editorial: Crohn's disease: new concepts needed. Lancet. 1975 Jan 11;1(7898):80–82. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hakuba A., Nishimura S., Jang B. J. A combined retroauricular and preauricular transpetrosal-transtentorial approach to clivus meningiomas. Surg Neurol. 1988 Aug;30(2):108–116. doi: 10.1016/0090-3019(88)90095-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kawase T., Shiobara R., Toya S. Middle fossa transpetrosal-transtentorial approaches for petroclival meningiomas. Selective pyramid resection and radicality. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 1994;129(3-4):113–120. doi: 10.1007/BF01406489. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Mayberg M. R., Symon L. Meningiomas of the clivus and apical petrous bone. Report of 35 cases. J Neurosurg. 1986 Aug;65(2):160–167. doi: 10.3171/jns.1986.65.2.0160. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Megerian C. A., Chiocca E. A., McKenna M. J., Harsh G. F., 4th, Ojemann R. G. The subtemporal-transpetrous approach for excision of petroclival tumors. Am J Otol. 1996 Sep;17(5):773–779. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Samii M., Ammirati M., Mahran A., Bini W., Sepehrnia A. Surgery of petroclival meningiomas: report of 24 cases. Neurosurgery. 1989 Jan;24(1):12–17. doi: 10.1227/00006123-198901000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sekhar L. N., Jannetta P. J., Burkhart L. E., Janosky J. E. Meningiomas involving the clivus: a six-year experience with 41 patients. Neurosurgery. 1990 Nov;27(5):764–781. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. VanderZee K. I., Sanderman R., Heyink J. W., de Haes H. Psychometric qualities of the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0: a multidimensional measure of general health status. Int J Behav Med. 1996;3(2):104–122. doi: 10.1207/s15327558ijbm0302_2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ware J. E., Jr, Sherbourne C. D. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992 Jun;30(6):473–483. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Zentner J., Meyer B., Vieweg U., Herberhold C., Schramm J. Petroclival meningiomas: is radical resection always the best option? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997 Apr;62(4):341–345. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.62.4.341. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England are provided here courtesy of The Royal College of Surgeons of England

RESOURCES