Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2011
Case ReportsMotor cortex stimulation: functional magnetic resonance imaging-localized treatment for three sources of intractable facial pain.
Neuropathic facial pain can be a debilitating condition characterized by stabbing, burning, dysesthetic sensation. With a large range of causes and types, including deafferentation, postherpetic, atypical, and idiopathic, both medicine and neurosurgery have struggled to find effective treatments that address this broad spectrum of facial pain. The authors report the use of motor cortex stimulation to alleviate 3 distinct conditions associated with intractable facial pain: trigeminal deafferentation pain following rhizotomy, deafferentation pain secondary to meningioma, and postherpetic neuralgia. ⋯ Efficacy in pain reduction was achieved through variation of stimulation settings over the course of treatment, and it was assessed using the visual analog scale and narrative report. Surgical complications included moderate postsurgical incisional pain, transient cerebral edema, and intraoperative seizure. The authors' results affirm the efficacy and broaden the application of motor cortex stimulation to several forms of intractable facial pain.
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Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is perceived to be a "benign," easily treated condition in the elderly, but reported follow-up periods are brief, usually limited to acute hospitalization. ⋯ In this first report of the long-term outcome of elderly patients with CSDH the authors observed persistent excess mortality up to 1 year beyond diagnosis. This belies the notion that CSDH is a benign disease and indicates it is a marker of other underlying chronic diseases similar to hip fracture.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2011
Case ReportsFollow-up 26 years after dorsal root entry zone thermocoagulation for brachial plexus avulsion and phantom limb pain.
Brachial plexus avulsion and limb amputation are often associated with intractable chronic pain. Dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) thermocoagulation is an effective surgical treatment for upper-extremity deafferentation pain. ⋯ This patient continues to have successful pain control without phantom limb sensation and has never experienced a recurrence of his left upper-extremity pain syndrome. This report lends credibility to the notion that, among ablative neurosurgical pain operations, DREZ thermocoagulation may provide the greatest durability of pain control.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2011
Pitfalls in the publication of scientific literature: a road map to manage conflict of interest and other ethical challenges.
The process of publishing scientific research can be hampered by potential pitfalls for journals and researchers alike; the definition and determination of authorship, legal documentation, data accuracy, and disclosure of financial conflicts of interest are all examples. In the current article, the authors discuss the challenges related to scientific medical writing and provide updated recommendations for both the prevention and management of these issues.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2011
Review Case ReportsTransorbital penetrating injury: case series, review of the literature, and proposed management algorithm.
Transorbital penetrating injury (TPI), an uncommon subset of head trauma, requires prompt multidisciplinary surgical intervention. While numerous case reports appear in the literature, there is a lack of discrete recommendations for initial evaluation, surgical intervention, and postoperative care of patients with TPI. A retrospective review of 4 cases of TPI at the University of Michigan Health System was undertaken to assess for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging is indicated in patients who have indwelling wooden foreign bodies. Angiography should be performed in patients with suspected vascular injury. Treatment decisions should be made by a multidisciplinary team with input from neurosurgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and maxillofacial surgery.