Neurosurgery
-
Extratemporal lobe epilepsy surgery remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Scalp electroencephalography (EEG) correlates, clinical semiology, and imaging findings are often ambiguous or difficult to interpret, necessitating the need for invasive recordings. This is particularly true for those extratemporal lobe epilepsy cases in which seizures develop from the midline. ⋯ Surgical resections in mesial extratemporal regions were found to be safe and resulted in satisfactory seizure outcomes.
-
There is no objective and readily accessible method for the preoperative determination of atypical characteristics of a meningioma grade. ⋯ Fractal analysis of preoperative MR images appears to be a feasible adjunctive diagnostic tool in identifying meningiomas with potentially aggressive clinical behavior.
-
The failure modes, time to development, and clinical relevance are known to differ between proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) and proximal junctional failure (PJF). However, there are no reports that study the risk factors of PJK and PJF separately. ⋯ PJK developed at a median of 17 months and PJF at a median of 3 months. A high body mass index was an independent risk factor for PJK, whereas older age, osteoporosis, uppermost instrumented vertebra level at the thoracolumbar junction, and greater preoperative sagittal vertical axis were risk factors for PJF.
-
Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) allows for the treatment of intracranial tumors with a high degree of dose conformality and precision. There are, however, certain situations wherein the dose conformality of GKRS is desired, but single session treatment is contraindicated. In these situations, a traditional pin-based GKRS head frame cannot be used, as it precludes fractionated treatment. ⋯ Fractionated GKRS was well-tolerated in the treatment of large meningiomas, perioptic tumors, vestibular schwannomas with intent of hearing preservation, and in reirradiation of previously treated tumors.
-
The treatment of large arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) remains challenging. Recently, staged-volume radiosurgery (SVRS) has become an option. ⋯ Obliteration and hemorrhage rates of large AVMs treated by SVRS are similar to historical SSRS. However, SVRS offers a lower rate of AREs.