Hydrophilic polymer embolism identified in brain tumor specimens following Wada testing: A report of 2 cases

Authors

  • Vanessa S. Goodwill Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego
  • Michael G. Brandel Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego
  • Jeffrey A. Steinberg Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego
  • Thomas L. Beaumont Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego
  • Lawrence A. Hansen Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17879/freeneuropathology-2021-3457

Keywords:

Embolism, Vascular access devices, Brain infarction, Glioma, Vasculitis

Abstract

Hydrophilic polymers are commonly used as coatings on intravascular medical devices. As intravascular pro-cedures continue to increase in frequency, the risk of embolization of this material throughout the body has become evident. These emboli may be discovered incidentally but can result in serious complications includ-ing death. Here, we report the first two cases of hydrophilic polymer embolism (HPE) identified on brain tu-mor resection following Wada testing. One patient experienced multifocal vascular complications and diffuse cerebral edema, while the other had an uneventful postoperative course. Wada testing is frequently per-formed during preoperative planning prior to epilepsy surgery or the resection of tumors in eloquent brain regions. These cases demonstrate the need for increased recognition of this histologic finding to enable fur-ther correlation with clinical outcomes.

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Published

2021-09-02

How to Cite

Goodwill, V. S., Brandel, M. G., Steinberg, J. A., Beaumont, T. L., & Hansen, L. A. (2021). Hydrophilic polymer embolism identified in brain tumor specimens following Wada testing: A report of 2 cases. Free Neuropathology, 2, 23. https://doi.org/10.17879/freeneuropathology-2021-3457

Issue

Vol. 2 (2021)

Section

Case Reports

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Vanessa S. Goodwill, Michael G. Brandel, Jeffrey A. Steinberg, Thomas L. Beaumont, Lawrence A. Hansen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Papers are published open access under the Creative Commons BY 4.0 license. This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Data included in the article are made available under the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication waiver, unless otherwise stated, meaning that all copyrights are waived.