Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Acute ischemic stroke resulting from intracranial vessel occlusion is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The mainstays of therapy are fibrinolytics and mechanical thrombectomy in properly selected patients. A new Food and Drug Administration-approved technology to perform thrombectomy, retrievable stenting, may provide superior revascularization rates and improved patient outcomes. ⋯ Revascularization (83%, 82%), mortality (31%, 14%), hemorrhage (8%, 6%), device complications (5%, 6%), and good patient outcomes (51%, 47%) were found with the Trevo and Solitaire devices, respectively. Preliminary analysis reveals excellent clinical outcomes for retrievable stent technology. This may be attributable to both high rates of revascularization with a relatively short time to perfusion restoration.
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Esophageal perforation is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication of anterior cervical spinal surgery. This study aimed to investigate the diagnosis and treatment of cervical esophageal perforation related to spinal surgery. Among 1097 consecutive cases of anterior cervical spinal surgery that were managed at our institution over a 20 year period, five patients with esophageal perforation were identified. ⋯ The early diagnosis of esophageal perforation related to cervical spinal surgery relies on clinical suspicion and efficient investigation. The selection of appropriate treatment options, which include esophageal rest, antibiotic administration, nutrition support, wound debridement, open drainage, and surgical repair, largely depends on when the perforation is recognized. Early diagnosis and prompt management of this complication are likely to result in a good clinical outcome.
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The concept of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) for the anterior treatment of cervical pathology has existed for approximately half a decade. In this time, multiple devices have been developed for this purpose, with the ultimate aim to provide an alternative to fusion. Fifty-five patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy and myelopathy underwent CDA over a 5 year period. ⋯ In both groups of patients, improvements in pain and neurologic deficit were accompanied by significant improvements in multiple domains of the SF-36. Using a composite system which considered neck pain, arm pain, function and myelopathy, we arrived at an overall success rate of 73%. We concluded that CDA is an effective intervention for improving neurologic deficit, arm pain and local neck symptoms that translated into improvements in physical and social functioning in the intermediate term.
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Comparative Study
A comparative analysis of neurosurgical online education materials to assess patient comprehension.
Americans have increasingly utilized the internet as a first-line resource for a variety of information, including healthcare-oriented materials. Therefore, these online resources should be written at a level the average American can understand. ⋯ All neurosurgical subspecialty education material provided on the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website was uniformly written at a level that was too high, as assessed by all modalities. In order to reach a larger patient population, patient education materials on the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website should be revised with the goal of simplifying readability.
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Apoplexy of the pituitary gland is a rare complication of pituitary adenomas, involving hemorrhage with or without necrosis within the tumor. This condition may be either asymptomatic or may present with severe headache, visual impairment, ophthalmoplegia, and pituitary failure. Transsphenoidal surgery is the treatment of choice, and early intervention is usually required to ensure reversal of visual impairment. ⋯ Pathological analysis revealed evidence of necrotic pituitary apoplexy. At the 2 month follow-up, the patient had near-complete to complete resolution of his visual impairment. To the authors' knowledge, this report is unique as the patient demonstrated complete necrotic apoplexy and it underlines the diagnostic dilemma in such a case.