Neurosurgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The effects of spinal cord stimulation in neuropathic pain are sustained: a 24-month follow-up of the prospective randomized controlled multicenter trial of the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation.
After randomizing 100 failed back surgery syndrome patients to receive spinal cord stimulation (SCS) plus conventional medical management (CMM) or CMM alone, the results of the 6-month Prospective Randomized Controlled Multicenter Trial of the Effectiveness of Spinal Cord Stimulation (i.e., PROCESS) showed that SCS offered superior pain relief, health-related quality of life, and functional capacity. Because the rate of crossover favoring SCS beyond 6 months would bias a long-term randomized group comparison, we present all outcomes in patients who continued SCS from randomization to 24 months and, for illustrative purposes, the primary outcome (>50% leg pain relief) per randomization and final treatment. ⋯ At 24 months of SCS treatment, selected failed back surgery syndrome patients reported sustained pain relief, clinically important improvements in functional capacity and health-related quality of life, and satisfaction with treatment.
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Previously, information on cervical corpectomy complication rates has been obtained from retrospective analysis of single-institution data. The aim of this study was to report 30-day mortality and complication rates after cervical corpectomy using multicenter prospective data from the Veterans Affairs National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. ⋯ We have analyzed the morbidity and mortality data on the largest series of corpectomy reported to date. We have demonstrated the impact of age, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, and number of operated levels on complication rates. Type 1 diabetes was established as a strong risk factor for 30-day mortality after cervical corpectomy.
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THE ULNAR NERVE is compressed at the cubical notch in patients with cubital tunnel syndrome. To definitively alleviate this compression, the nerve can be transposed under the pronator teres and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles. This procedure is also known as medianization of the ulnar nerve because it then courses parallel to the median nerve. In the current article the procedure is described in a step-by-step fashion.
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Despite new endovascular techniques and technological advances in microsurgery, the treatment of giant intracranial aneurysms is still a daunting neurosurgical task. Many of these aneurysms have a large, calcified neck, directly involve parent and collateral branches, and are partly thrombosed. In this retrospective review, we focused our analysis on the indications for high-flow, extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery using a saphenous vein graft. ⋯ The "gold standard" for the treatment of giant aneurysms remains surgical clipping. When direct surgical clipping or endovascular repair is contraindicated, the high-flow EC-IC bypass is a viable surgical option.
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Comparative Study
Cervical disc arthroplasty compared with fusion in a workers' compensation population.
Patients with cervical radiculopathy and/or myelopathy are often treated with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Cervical arthroplasty has recently been advocated as an alternative treatment. Theoretically, arthroplasty should permit early return to activity and protect against adjacent segment disease. Early mobilization and return to activity may, theoretically, reduce cost to the workers' compensation program. ⋯ In this workers' compensation cohort, it was observed that a greater number of patients in the arthroplasty group returned to work at 6 weeks and 3 months after surgery. A trend toward an earlier return to work was also seen, although this was not statistically significant when controlling for differences in the studies.