Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40041081›Full record

ArticleSurgical neurology international2025

Unexpected complication after lumbar disc surgery, peripheral facial paralysis due to pneumocephalus: A case report.

Aydemir Kale, Zeynep Balaban, İmran Asadov

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical neurology international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Aydemir KaleDepartment of Neurosurgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Zeynep BalabanDepartment of Neurosurgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
İmran AsadovDepartment of Neurosurgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Pneumocephalus, characterized by air in the cranial cavity, is a rare condition typically associated with surgical procedures but may also result from trauma, infection, or spontaneously. Cranial nerve palsies following pneumocephalus are seldom documented in the literature, and, in particular, facial nerve palsies due to pneumocephalus following lumbar spine surgery have not yet been reported. Case Description: A 47-year-old male patient underwent surgery due to a herniated disc. Isolated grade 4 facial palsy, according to the House-Brackmann scale, on the left side developed after surgery. Computed tomography revealed pneumocephalus in the basal cisterns. The patient was treated without any problems conservatively. Conclusion: While most cases are due to intracranial surgery, pneumocephalus caused by spinal surgery is extremely rare. Pneumocephalus usually occurs without symptoms but can occasionally be accompanied by headaches and rarely leads to focal neurological or cranial nerve deficits. This case emphasizes the importance of considering pneumocephalus as a possible complication after spinal surgery and highlights its rare association with cranial nerve deficits.

Indexed as

Facial nerve palsyLumbar discectomyPneumocephalus

Identifiers

PMID40041081
PMCPMC11878729

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.