Neurosurg Focus
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Case Reports
Microsurgical resection of a high-grade occipital arteriovenous malformation after staged embolization.
The authors demonstrate the case of a 16-year-old girl with a large symptomatic occipital arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The staged embolization was performed to downgrade the AVM from Spetzler-Martin (S-M) Grade IV (Supplementary S-M Grade 7) to Grade III (Supplementary S-M Grade 5). The patient developed a subacute progressive visual field defect after the final time of embolization. ⋯ Postoperatively, good radiological results were achieved, and the patient reported an improvement in her symptoms. The detailed operative technique and surgical nuances (including the surgical features of the AVM postembolization) of the marginal dissection and removal are illustrated in this video atlas. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/2MZq5patcJI .
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Superficial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) with favorable Spetzler-Martin grading are amenable to primary surgical resection. Careful preoperative workup including preoperative angiograms is essential to identify feeding artery aneurysms and deep venous drainage. The authors present a 37-year-old female who presented with a Spetzler-Martin Grade II right parietal superficial AVM with a 5-mm feeding artery aneurysm from the posterior cerebral artery. ⋯ On subsequent postoperative angiograms, the feeding artery aneurysm diminished in caliber. Feeding artery aneurysms may regress spontaneously after resection of an AVM due to flow-related changes. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/PpwODc9iI3g .
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Neurosurgery is experiencing the emergence of a new subspecialty focused on function restoration. New, evolving, and reappraised surgical procedures have provided an opportunity to restore function to many patients with previously undertreated disorders. Candidates for reconstruction were previously limited to those with peripheral nerve and brachial plexus injuries, but this has been expanded to include stroke, spinal cord injury, and a host of other paralyzing disorders affecting both upper and lower motor neurons. ⋯ Neurosurgeons-as the specialists who already manage this patient population and possess the requisite surgical skills to master the required techniques-have a unique opportunity to lead the development of this field. The full development of this subspecialty will lay the foundation for the subsequent addition of emerging treatments, such as neuroprosthetics and stem cell-based interventions. As such, reconstructive neurosurgery represents an important aspect of neurosurgical training that can ameliorate many of the deficits encountered in the traditional practice of neurosurgery.
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Multicenter Study
Flow diversion of tandem cerebral aneurysms: a multi-institutional retrospective study.
OBJECTIVE Flow diversion has proven to be an efficacious means of treating cerebral aneurysms that are refractory to other therapeutic means. Patients with tandem aneurysms treated with flow diversion have been included in larger, previously reported series; however, there are no dedicated reports on using this technique during a single session to treat this unique subset of patients. Therefore, the authors analyzed the outcomes of patients who had undergone single-session flow diversion for the treatment of tandem aneurysms. ⋯ The mean initial Raymond score after treatment was 2.7 ± 0.7, and the mean final score was 1.3 ± 0.7. CONCLUSIONS In this series, the use of flow diversion for the treatment of tandem cerebral aneurysms had an acceptable safety profile, indicating that it should be considered as an effective therapy for this complicated subset of patients. Further prospective studies must be performed before more definitive conclusions can be made.