Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jul 2019
Attitudes and opinions of US neurosurgical residents toward research and scholarship: a national survey.
The analysis of resident research productivity in neurosurgery has gained significant recent interest. Resident scholarly output affects departmental productivity, recruitment of future residents, and likelihood of future research careers. To maintain and improve opportunities for resident research, the authors evaluated factors that affect resident attitudes toward neurosurgical research on a national level. ⋯ This survey evaluates various factors affecting resident views toward research, which may also be seen in other specialties. Residents remain enthusiastic about neurosurgical research and offer several solutions to the ever-scarce commodities of time and funding within academic medicine.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jul 2019
Bilateral coagulation of inferior hypophyseal artery and pituitary transposition during endoscopic endonasal interdural posterior clinoidectomy: do they affect pituitary function?
The endoscopic endonasal transcavernous approach with interdural pituitary transposition provides surgical access to the posterior clinoids and interpeduncular cistern. Prior to posterior clinoidectomy, selective coagulation and transection of the inferior hypophyseal artery (IHA) is recommended to prevent uncontrolled tearing of the artery and its avulsion from the wall of the cavernous carotid artery. The authors' preliminary experience has shown that unilateral sacrifice of the IHA caused no permanent endocrine dysfunction. In this study, they investigated the pituitary function in the setting of bilateral sacrifice of IHAs and pituitary transposition. ⋯ The endoscopic endonasal transcavernous approach to the interpeduncular cistern with pituitary transposition and bilateral sacrifice of the IHAs does not cause pituitary dysfunction in a majority of patients. When endocrine deficit occurs, it appears to be more likely to have been caused by surgical manipulation than loss of blood supply. This finding confirms clinically the crucial concept of interarterial anastomosis of pituitary vasculature proposed by anatomists.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jul 2019
The medial wall of the cavernous sinus. Part 2: Selective medial wall resection in 50 pituitary adenoma patients.
Pituitary adenomas often invade the medial wall of the cavernous sinus (CS), but this structure is generally not surgically removed because of the risk of vascular and cranial nerve injury. The purpose of this study was to report the surgical outcomes in a large series of cases of invasive pituitary adenoma in which the medial wall of the CS was selectively removed following an anatomically based, stepwise surgical technique. ⋯ The medial wall of the CS can be removed safely and effectively, with minimal morbidity and excellent resection and remission rates. Further follow-up is needed to determine the long-term results of this anatomically based technique, which should only be performed by very experienced endonasal skull base teams.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jul 2019
Case ReportsMultifocal cavernous hemangioma of the jugular foramen: a rare skull base vascular malformation.
Jugular foramen cavernous hemangiomas are extremely rare vascular malformations, and, to the best of the authors' knowledge, their occurrence as multifocal lesions involving both intra- and extracranial compartments has never been reported before. Here, the authors describe the case of a 60-year-old woman with a complex multifocal jugular foramen cavernous hemangioma. ⋯ Surgical extirpation of the lesion was achieved by a multidisciplinary team via a right infratemporal fossa approach (Fisch type A) with concurrent high neck dissection and a closure buttressed with an autologous fat graft and a temporoparietal fascial flap. Although rare, cavernous hemangiomas should be included in the differential diagnosis of jugular foramen masses.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jul 2019
Surgical anatomy of the superior hypophyseal artery and its relevance for endoscopic endonasal surgery.
The endoscopic endonasal approach has become a routine corridor to the suprasellar region. The superior hypophyseal arteries (SHAs) are intimately related to lesions in the suprasellar space, such as craniopharyngiomas and meningiomas. Here the authors investigate the surgical anatomy and variations of the SHA from the endoscopic endonasal perspective. ⋯ The first SHA almost always supplies the infundibulum, optic chiasm, and proximal optic nerve and represents the pSHA. Compromising this artery can cause a visual deficit. Unilateral injury to the pSHA is less likely to cause an endocrine deficit given the artery's abundant anastomoses. A detailed understanding of the surgical anatomy of the SHA and its many variations may help surgeons when approaching challenging lesions in the suprasellar region.