Neurosurgery
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We review a 6-year, single-center experience using the technique of C1-C2 transarticular screw fixation for atlantoaxial instability in 75 consecutive operations. ⋯ C1-C2 transarticular screw fixation supplemented with an interspinous construct yielded a 96% fusion rate, with a low incidence of complications. We attribute our successful outcomes to careful preoperative assessment and meticulous surgical technique.
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Posttraumatic hyperthermia has been demonstrated to worsen neurological outcome in models of brain injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of systemic hyperthermia on locomotor and morphological outcome measures after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat. ⋯ These data suggest that complications of SCI (e.g., fever, infection) leading to an elevation of systemic temperature may add to the severity of secondary injury associated with traumatic SCI and significantly affect neurological outcome.
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Case Reports
Microsurgical removal of a petrous apex meningioma after stereotactic radiation: technical case report.
Stereotactic radiation is increasingly advocated as a primary treatment option for benign cranial base lesions. The clinical course of the patient reported herein raises questions regarding the rationale for initiation of radiotherapy to a petrous apex meningioma before microsurgery. ⋯ Radiotherapy should be withheld for benign and accessible tumors of the cranial base until the option of radical microsurgical treatment has been explored.