Neurosurgery
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Racial disparities in American health care outcomes are well documented. We investigated racial disparities in hospital mortality and adverse discharge disposition after brain tumor craniotomies performed in the United States from 1988 to 2004. We explored potential explanations for the disparities. ⋯ Black patients died more often or had an adverse discharge disposition after tumor craniotomies in the United States in the period studied (1988-2004). Blacks had more severe disease at presentation and were treated at lower-volume hospitals for surgery. Other socially defined patient groups also showed disparities in access and outcomes of care.
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To develop a safe and accurate method of image-guided placement of instrumentation in the upper cervical spine and occiput in which the reference arc is fixed to the headholder. ⋯ This technique allows safe and accurate placement of instrumentation in the posterior occipitocervical junction using 3-dimensional image guidance in which the reference arc is attached to the headholder.
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Although there are several large-species animal models for saccular aneurysms, there is a need for a simple, reproducible saccular aneurysm model in mice. ⋯ We describe a novel murine elastase saccular aneurysm model that replicates the histopathology and BMP-derived cell-mediated processes that will be a valuable instrument for studying the cell-mediated processes in cerebral aneurysm formation.