Neurosurgical review
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Neurosurgical review · Jan 2016
Review Meta AnalysisSpinal cord stimulation for Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.
Axial symptoms are a late-developing phenomenon in the course of Parkinson's disease (PD) and represent a therapeutic challenge given their poor response to levodopa therapy and deep brain stimulation. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) may be a new therapeutic approach for the alleviation of levodopa-resistant motor symptoms of PD. Our purpose was to systematically review the effectiveness of SCS for the treatment of motor symptoms of PD and to evaluate the technical and pathophysiological mechanisms that may influence the outcome efficacy of SCS. ⋯ The overall motor score of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale in the on/off-stimulation condition remained unchanged in 6 patients and improved in 18 patients after SCS. SCS appears to yield positive results for PD symptoms, especially for impairments in gait function and postural stability. However, evidence is limited and long-term prospective studies will be required to identify the optimal candidates for SCS and the best parameters of stimulation and to fully characterize the effects of stimulation on motor and nonmotor symptoms of PD.
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Neurosurgical review · Jan 2016
Surgical management of spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leakage through temporal bone defects--case series and review of the literature.
Increasing numbers of cases of idiopathic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage through temporal bone defects (TBD) have been recently reported, mainly in otolaryngologic journals. Those cases are referred to as spontaneous temporal bone encephaloceles (TBE). Three surgical approaches have been advocated for this condition: the transmastoid approach (TMA), the middle cranial fossa approach (MCFA), or a combination of both. ⋯ It revealed a trend favoring the use of the MCFA approach over the TMA approach, with an acceptable risk of less than 5% for craniotomy-related complications. We concluded that MCFA is an effective and safe technique for the repair of CSF leakage through TBD. A high percentage of complete resolution with a low complication rate can be achieved with this surgical technique.
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Neurosurgical review · Jan 2016
Factors influencing the outcome (GOS) in reconstructive cranioplasty.
After performing a decompressive craniectomy, a cranioplastic surgery is usually warranted. The complications of this reconstructive procedure may differ from the initial operation. The authors of this study report on their experience to define patient-specific and procedural risk factors for possible complications following cranioplasty influencing the outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS)), mobility, shunt dependency, and seizures. ⋯ Evaluation of treatment modality in aneurysmal SAH clip vs. coil showed no significant relation to postoperative complications either. Complications after cranioplastic surgery are a common problem, as prognostic factors could identify a shunt-depending hydrocephalus and epilepsia to develop a major deficit after cranioplastic surgery (GOS 2 or 3). We detected a significant extra risk of people between the age of 51 and 70 years to end up in GOS level 2 or 3.
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Neurosurgical review · Jan 2016
Keyhole epilepsy surgery: corticoamygdalohippocampectomy for mesial temporal sclerosis.
Surgical approaches for medically refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) that previously have been reported include anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL), transcortical selective amygdalohippocampectomy, transsylvian amygdalohippocampectomy, and subtemporal amygdalohippocampectomy. Each approach has its advantages and potential pitfalls. The purpose of this report is to describe our technique of keyhole corticoamygdalohippocampectomy for patients with MTLE due to hippocampal sclerosis. ⋯ Only a small percentage of patients had complications (1.76%), and the rate of Engel Class I seizure-free outcome was 87%. No overt speech problems or visual field deficits were identified. Compared with the most popular conventional trans-middle temporal gyrus approach, this technique can make the operation easier, safer, and less traumatic to functional lateral neocortex.