Neurosurgery
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In July 2009, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) incorporated postgraduate year 1 (PGY1 intern) level training into all U.S. neurosurgery residency programs. ⋯ Regional organization facilitated an unprecedented degree of participation in a national fundamental skills program for entering neurosurgery residents. One hundred percent of resident and faculty respondents positively reviewed the courses. The boot camp courses may provide a model for enhanced learning, professionalism, and safety at the inception of training in other procedural specialties.
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Phrenic nerve transfer (PNT) or multiple intercostal nerve transfer (MIT) alone are reported to have no significant impact on pulmonary function in the short or medium term, but it has rarely been reported whether the combination of PNT-MIT could influence respiratory function in the long term. ⋯ PNT-MIT did not result in additional impairment in respiratory function in adult patients compared with PNT alone. It is safe to transfer 2 to 4 intercostal nerves at 1 to 2 months delay after PNT.
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After rupture of an anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm, the anterior cingulum and the fornix can be vulnerable to injury. However, very little is known about this topic. ⋯ We found injuries of the cingulum and fornix in patients with an ACoA aneurysm rupture. It is our belief that sustained memory impairment of patients with an ACoA aneurysm rupture might be related to injury of the cingulum and fornix. Therefore, we recommend evaluation of the cingulum and fornix with diffusion tensor tractography for patients with an ACoA aneurysm rupture.
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Lesions in the insula and basal ganglia can be risky to resect because of their depth and proximity to critical structures, particularly in the dominant hemisphere. Transsylvian approaches shorten the surgical distance to these lesions, preserve perisylvian temporal and frontal cortex, and minimize brain transgression. ⋯ Transsylvian-transinsular approaches safely expose vascular pathology in or deep to the insula while preserving overlying eloquent cortex in the frontal and temporal lobes. The anterior transsylvian-transinsular approach can be differentiated from the posterior approach based on technical differences in splitting the sylvian fissure and anatomic differences in final exposure. Discriminating patient selection and careful microsurgical technique are essential.