World Neurosurg
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, is a serious and potentially fatal surgical complication. The goal of our study was to examine preoperative characteristics, incidence, and outcomes of patients with VTE after elective thoracic/thoracolumbar level spine fusion. ⋯ Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals age, insurance status, hospital type, combined anterior/posterior surgical approach, and the presence of congestive heart failure or weight loss to be independently associated with an increased odds ratio of VTE complication. This complication is associated with increased hospital costs, length of stay, and overall mortality.
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To depict the clinical, operative, and histological features of Rathke cleft cysts (RCCs) in consideration of therapeutic results and recurrence rates. ⋯ When RCCs are recognized intraoperatively, the evacuation of their contents and partial cyst obliteration generally afford dramatic improvements in a patient's clinical signs and symptoms, along with low complications and rate of recurrence.
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Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) do not seem to be static congenital vascular malformations but rather are dynamically changing pathologies. In this work, we investigated the expression and possible activation of different signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) family members in AVM nidus. ⋯ We obtained evidence for significant overexpression and activation of both STATs 1 and 3 in cerebral AVM, thus suggesting an important role for these proteins in mediating the pathophysiology of cerebral AVM.