Journal of neurosurgery
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2014
Case Reports Comparative StudyResolution of papilledema after endoscopic third ventriculostomy versus cerebrospinal fluid shunting in hydrocephalus: a comparative study.
In this study the authors compare the efficacy of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) versus CSF shunting for resolution of papilledema in hydrocephalus. ⋯ This is the first study to quantitatively evaluate papilledema in assessing the success of ETV and CSF shunting. The authors' results indicated that ETV is as effective as CSF shunting with respect to decreasing intracranial pressure and resolution of papilledema.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2014
Comparative StudyTransorbital endoscopic amygdalohippocampectomy: a feasibility investigation.
Resection of the hippocampus is the standard of care for medically intractable epilepsy in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis. Although temporal craniotomy in this setting is highly successful, the procedure carries certain immutable risks and may be associated with cognitive deficits related to cortical and white matter disruption. Alternative surgical approaches may reduce some of these risks by preserving the lateral temporal lobe. This study examined the feasibility of transorbital endoscopic amygdalohippocampectomy (TEA) as an alternative to open craniotomy in cadaveric specimens. ⋯ TEA permits hippocampectomy comparable to standard surgical approaches without disrupting the lateral temporal cortex or white matter. This novel approach is feasible in cadaveric specimens and warrants clinical investigation in carefully selected cases.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2014
Comparative StudyShould ventriculoatrial shunting be the procedure of choice for normal-pressure hydrocephalus?
Ventriculoatrial (VA) shunting is rarely used for patients with normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), likely due to surgeon technical preference and case reports indicating cardiopulmonary complications. However, these complications have typically been limited to adults in whom VA shunts had been placed when they were children. Few studies have directly compared VA shunting to ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting in cases of NPH. ⋯ The authors found no significant differences in complication rates between VA and VP shunting, and VA shunting was not associated with any cardiopulmonary complications. Thus, in the authors' experience, VA shunting is at least as safe as VP shunting for treating NPH.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2014
Chronic unlimited recording electrocorticography-guided resective epilepsy surgery: technology-enabled enhanced fidelity in seizure focus localization with improved surgical efficacy.
Epilepsy surgery is at the cusp of a transformation due to the convergence of advancements in multiple technologies. Emerging neuromodulatory therapies offer the promise of functionally correcting neural instability and obviating the need for resective or ablative surgery in select cases. Chronic implanted neurological monitoring technology, delivered as part of a neuromodulatory therapeutic device or as a stand-alone monitoring system, offers the potential to monitor patients chronically in their normal ambulatory setting with outpatient medication regimens. This overcomes significant temporal limitations, pharmacological perturbations, and infection risks inherent in the present technology comprising subacute percutaneous inpatient monitoring of presurgical candidates in an epilepsy monitoring unit. ⋯ Chronic unlimited recording electrocorticography-guided resective epilepsy surgery employs new monitoring technology in a novel way, which in this small series was felt to improve seizure localization and consequently the potential efficacy of resective surgery. This suggests that the CURE modality could improve outcomes in patients who undergo resective surgery, and it may expand the set of patients in whom resective surgery may be expected to be efficacious and therefore the potential number of patients who may achieve seizure freedom. The authors report 4 cases of patients in which this technique and technology had a direct role in guiding surgery that provided seizure freedom and that suggest this new approach warrants further study to characterize its value in presurgical evaluation. Clinical trial no.: NCT00572195 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
-
Incidental colloid cysts are frequently managed with surveillance imaging rather than surgical excision. This approach is born out of their purported indolent growth pattern and the surgical morbidity associated with microsurgical removal. The advent of endoscopic colloid cyst removal may offer renewed assessment of these patients who carry a risk of acute neurological deterioration. An evidence-based recommendation should weigh the risks of operative treatment. Thus far, there has been no concentrated assessment of cyst removal in patients with incidental colloid cysts. The major objective in this study was to define the risks associated with the endoscopic surgical removal of incidentally diagnosed colloid cysts. ⋯ Age and cyst diameter were not correlated with the absence or presence of symptoms in patients with a colloid cyst of the third ventricle. Operative results were highly favorable in both groups and did not reveal a higher risk of morbidity in the patient presenting with an incidental lesion. The results support endoscopic resection as a legitimate therapeutic option for patients with incidental colloid cysts. Generalization of the operative results should be cautiously made, since this is a limited series and the results may depend on the degree of neuroendoscopic experience.