Meningiomas of the rolandic region: risk factors for motor deficit and role of intra‑operative monitoring

Acta Neurochirurgica (2023) 165:1707–1716

Meningiomas of the rolandic region are associated to high risk of postoperative motor deficits. This study discusses the factors affecting motor outcome and recurrences from the analysis of a monoinstitutional case series and eight studies from a literature review.

Methods Data of 75 patients who underwent surgery for meningioma of the rolandic region were retrospectively reviewed. The analyzed factors included tumor location and size, clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surgical findings, brain-tumor interface, extent of resection, postoperative outcome and recurrence. Eight studies from literature on rolandic meningiomas treated with or without intraoperative monitoring (IOM) were reviewed with the aim to define the impact of IOM on the extent of resection and motor outcome.

Results Among the 75 patients of the personal series, the meningioma was on the brain convexity in 34 (46%), at the parasagittal region in 28 (37%) and at the falx in 13 (17%). The brain-tumor interface was preserved in 53 cases (71%) at MRI and in 56 (75%) at surgical exploration. Simpson grade I resection was obtained in 43% of patients, grade II in 33%, grade III in 15% and grade IV in 9%. The motor function worsened postoperatively in 9 among 32 cases with preoperative deficit (28%) and in 5 among 43 with no preoperative deficit (11.5%); definitive motor deficit was evidenced in overall series at follow-up in 7 (9.3%). Patients with meningioma with lost arachnoid interface had significant higher rates of worsened postoperative motor deficit (p = 0.01) and seizures (p = 0.033). Recurrence occurred in 8 patients (11%). The analysis of the 8 reviewed studies (4 with and 4 without IOM) shows in the group without IOM higher rates of Simpson grades I and II resection (p = 0.02) and lower rates of grades IV resection (p = 0.002); no significant differences in postoperative immediate and long-term motor deficits were evidenced between the two groups.

Conclusions Data from literature review show that the use of IOM does not affect the postoperative motor deficit Therefore, its role in rolandic meningiomas resection remains to be determined and will be defined in further studies.

Neurosurgical management of intractable rolandic epilepsy in children: role of resection in eloquent cortex

J Neurosurg Pediatrics 4:199-216, 2009. DOI: 10.3171/2009.3.PEDS08459

Object. The authors undertook this study to review their experience with cortical resections in the rolandic region in children with intractable  epilepsy.
Methods. The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records obtained in 22 children with intractable epilepsy arising from the rolandic region. All patients underwent preoperative   electroencephalography (EEG), MRimaging, prolonged video-EEG recordings, functional MR imaging, magnetoencephalography, and in some instances PET/SPECT studies. In 21 patients invasive subdural grid and depth electrode monitoring was performed. Resection of the epileptogenic zones in the rolandic region was undertaken in all cases. Seizure outcome was graded according to the Engel classification. Functional outcome was determined using validated outcome scores.
Results. There were 10 girls and 12 boys, whose mean age at seizure onset was 3.2 years. The mean age at surgery was 10 years. Seizure duration prior to surgery was a mean of 7.4 years. Nine patients had preoperative hemiparesis.
Neuropsychological testing revealed impairment in some domains in 19 patients in whom evaluation was possible. Magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities were identified in 19 patients. Magnetoencephalography was performed in all patients and showed perirolandic spike clusters on the affected side in 20 patients. The mean duration of invasive monitoring was 4.2 days. The mean number of seizures during the period of invasive monitoring was 17. All patients underwent resection that involved primary motor and/or sensory cortex. The most common pathological entity encountered was cortical dysplasia, in 13 children. Immediately postoperatively, 20 patients had differing degrees of hemiparesis, from mild to severe. The hemiparesis improved in all affected patients by 3–6 months postoperatively. With a mean follow-up of 4.1 years (minimum 2 years), seizure outcome in 14 children (64%) was Engel Class I and seizure outcome in 4 (18%) was Engel Class II. In this series, seizure outcome following perirolandic resection was intimately related to the child’s age at the time of surgery. By univariate logistic regression analysis, age at surgery was a statistically significant factor predicting seizure outcome (p < 0.024).
Conclusions. Resection of rolandic cortex for intractable epilepsy is possible with expected morbidity. Accurate mapping of regions of functional cortex and epileptogenic zones may lead to improved seizure outcome in children with intractable rolandic epilepsy. It is important to counsel patients and families preoperatively to prepare them for possible worsened functional outcome involving motor, sensory and/or language pathways.