Journal of neurosurgery
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A wide range of devices is used to obtain intracranial electrocorticography recordings in patients with medically refractory epilepsy, including subdural strip and grid electrodes and depth electrodes. Penetrating depth electrodes are required to access some brain regions, and 1 target site that presents a particular technical challenge is the first transverse temporal gyrus, or Heschl gyrus (HG). The HG is located within the supratemporal plane and has an oblique orientation relative to the sagittal and coronal planes. ⋯ In this report, the authors describe an alternative method for implantation. They use frameless stereotaxy and an oblique insertion trajectory that does not require angiography and allows for the simultaneous placement of subdural grid arrays. Results in 19 patients demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the method.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2010
Long-term results of thalamic deep brain stimulation for essential tremor.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) has proven to be efficacious in the treatment of essential tremor (ET). The authors report on long-term follow-up of a series of patients treated at 1 institution by 1 neurosurgeon. ⋯ Deep brain stimulation of the VIM is an efficient and safe treatment for ET. Tremor and handwriting improvements in long-term follow-up are stable. The patients' perception of their outcome is quite good. However, tolerance may develop in some patients requiring changes in stimulation parameters.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2010
Biography Historical ArticleA unique experiment in neurological surgery: intracerebral injection of antitoxin for tetanus.
The discipline of neurological surgery was considered primarily "hopeless" and, at best, experimental in the late 19th century. Harvey Cushing's efforts during his initial uncharted voyage through the surgery of the human cranium were rudimentary and exploratory. ⋯ This case represents the intersection of neurosurgery and tetanus treatment in Dr. Cushing's intracerebral injection of antitoxin to treat generalized tetanus.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2010
Case ReportsSpontaneous involution of Rathke cleft cysts: is it rare or just underreported?
Rathke cleft cysts (RCCs) are benign cystic lesions of the sella that arise from the remnants of Rathke pouch. Although most are asymptomatic, symptoms can result from mass effect and commonly include headache, endocrinopathy, or visual field disturbance. ⋯ Spontaneous involution of an RCC may be more common than the paucity of prior reports would suggest, especially because the natural history of both symptomatic and asymptomatic RCCs is poorly understood. The potential for spontaneous involution, together with the clinical course of the patients reported here, supports a conservative approach for patients with symptomatic RCCs presenting solely with headache.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2010
Case ReportsNovel technique to improve vessel mismatch when using saphenous vein bypass grafts for intracranial revascularization procedures.
Cerebral bypass procedures in the posterior circulation are difficult to perform and are considered to be high-risk surgery. Venous grafts, like that formed using the saphenous vein (SV), are simple to obtain without posing a high risk of morbidity. The main disadvantage of these high-flow grafts is the mismatch in vessel diameter between donor and recipient vessels in the posterior circulation. ⋯ The bypass was patent; after a prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, the patient recovered gradually. This technique of linear venotomy along the distal 2.5 cm of the vein and subsequent tapering down of the diameter diminishes the circumference of the distal end of the graft, facilitating bypass to smaller vessels. This is a novel and feasible technique to eliminate vessel mismatch in cerebral bypass procedures in the difficult accessible vessels of the posterior circulation.