Lea Alhilali, MD Profile picture
May 27, 2022 6 tweets 4 min read Read on X
1/Kids now out of school? Headache already?? Usually neuroimaging doesn’t add much in headaches, but in occipital neuralgia MR neurography can add a lot.

A🧵about the use of MR neurography in occipital neuralgia
#MedTwitter #MedEd #neurorad #FOAMed #Headache #occipitalneuralgia Image
2/ There are actually 3 occipital nerves:greater, lesser and least. They arise from the upper cervical nerves and innervate various areas of the dorsal scalp. The greater occipital nerve is the only one large enough to image and it arises from C2 Image
3/The greater occipital nerve is the largest cutaneous nerve in the body and can be traced from its origin at the dorsal ramus of C2 along the scalp in MR neurography Image
4/Many pathologies can affect the greater occipital nerve, but most commonly, it is compression between muscles, resulting in occipital neuralgia. This is the basis behind Botox treatment for occipital neuralgia. Decompressive surgery can also be used to provide relief Image
5/Where is it compressed? Usually between the multifidus and semispinalis capitis. We can use MR neurography to rule out other pathologies of the nerve and confirm compressive injury Image
6/MR neurography can confirm unilateral dz preop or post op neuromas w/persistent pain. This is a pt w/unilateral right dz w/a brighter larger right nerve, indicating Sunderland 1 injury from compression

Not all headaches have to be a diagnostic headache with MR neurography 😉 Image

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More from @teachplaygrub

Dec 6
1/Time to FESS up! Do you understand functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS)?

If you read sinus CTs, you better know what the surgeon is doing or you won’t know what you’re doing!

Here’s a thread to make sure you always make the important findings! Image
2/The first step is to insert the endoscope into the nasal cavity.

The first two structures encountered are the nasal septum and the inferior turbinate. Image
3/So on every sinus CT you read, the first question is whether there is enough room to insert the scope.

Will it go in smoothly or will it be a tight fit? Image
Read 19 tweets
Dec 2
1/Ready for a throw down?

MMA fights get a lot of attention, but MMA (middle meningeal art) & dural blood supply doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

A thread on dural vascular anatomy! Image
2/Everyone knows about the blood supply to the brain.

Circle of Willis anatomy is king and loved by everyone, while the vascular anatomy of the blood supply to the dura is the poor, wicked step child of vascular anatomy that is often forgotten Image
3/But dural vascular anatomy & supply are important, especially now that MMA embolizations are commonly for chronic recurrent subdurals.

It also important for understanding dural arteriovenous fistulas as well. Image
Read 17 tweets
Nov 27
1/Controversy in radiology can get tense!

The Mt Fuji sign for tension pnemocephalus is under scrutiny. When should you call it?

A thread about imaging this important neurosurgery complication Image
2/First, let’s clarify about what the Mt Fuji sign actually is

Most are familiar with the fact that large collections of pneumocephalus can compress the frontal lobes—making them look like the slopes of a mountain

But this isn’t actually enough to call Mt Fuji. Image
3/You also need to see frontal lobe separation

This means subdural air tension > the CSF surface tension between the frontal lobes

Water has one of the highest liquid surface tensions—so means pressure is high

This little V is why it looks like Mt Fuji, not any mountain Image
Read 9 tweets
Nov 25
1/The medulla is anything but DULL!

Does seeing an infarct in the medulla cause your heart to skip a beat?

Does medullary anatomy send you into respiratory arrest?

Never fear, here is a thread on the major medullary syndromes! Image
2/The medulla is like a toll road.

Everything going down into the cord must pass through the medulla & everything from the cord going back up to the brain must too.

That’s a lot of tracts for a very small territory. Luckily you don’t need to know every tract Image
3/Medulla has 4 main vascular territories, spread out like a fan: anteromedial, anterolateral, lateral, and posterior.

You don’t need to remember their names, just the territory they cover—and I’ll show you how Image
Read 18 tweets
Nov 20
1/Time to rupture all your misconceptions about aneurysms!

When you see an aneurysm on imaging, do you know if it’s at high risk of rupture?

This month’s @theAJNR SCANtastic shows you which aneurysms are bursting w/risk!

ajnr.org/content/45/11/…Image
2/Aneurysm rupture is a devastating even, as it results in subarachnoid hemorrhage & complications such as hydrocephalus, vasospasm, infarcts, & death.

Preventing it by treating aneurysms before they rupture is key. But you also don’t want to overtreat. Image
3/To remember what features make an aneurysm more likely to rupture, think what makes that guy at the bar that you angered more likely to rupture & start a fight.

What makes him more likely to rupture are the same things that make aneurysms more likely to rupture Image
Read 19 tweets
Nov 11
1/Need help reading spine imaging? I’ve got your back!

It’s as easy as ABC!

A thread about an easy mnemonic you can use on every single spine study you see to increase your speed & make sure you never miss a thing! Image
2/A is for alignment

Look for:
(1) Unstable injuries

(2) Malalignment that causes early degenerative change. Abnormal motion causes spinal elements to abnormally move against each other, like grinding teeth wears down teeth—this wears down the spine Image
3/B is for bones.

On CT, the most important thing to look for w/bones is fractures. You may see focal bony lesions, but you may not

On MR, it is the opposite—you can see marrow lesions easily but you may or may not see edema associated w/fractures if the fracture is subtle Image
Read 11 tweets

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