World Neurosurg
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Constrains on neurosurgical residents' work hours demand innovative teaching models to complement the traditional "in the operating room" model. Stratathane ST-504 (Strata-Tech, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, USA) has been proposed as a useful artificial neurosurgical tumor model. The consistency, dissectability, and radio-opacity of this model strongly depend on its preparation and storage. However, little work has addressed the interplay of these properties. Hence our study was undertaken to explore the properties of ST-504, its preparation, and storage and how these interactions affect its radio-opacity and consistency. ⋯ For any given ratio of ST-504/water, the time sequence after polymer solidification and the storage method determine the computed tomography appearance and consistency of the tumor block/model. When taking these properties into consideration, ST-504-based artificial tumor models can be customized for different dissection practices, from more solid (meningioma-like) to less solid (schwannoma-like) models.
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The purpose of this report is to describe the surgical methodology and effectiveness of minimally invasive oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) assisted by spinal endoscopy, which can treat disk herniation from the central to contralateral foramen. OLIF showed indirect decompression effects on reduction of spondylolisthesis and a foraminal widening effect on disk height restoration. ⋯ OLIF with spinal endoscopic discectomy can achieve neural decompression without additional posterior decompression and can be used as an alternative treatment in selected cases.
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To investigate gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) for benign tumor-associated secondary trigeminal neuralgia (TN). ⋯ Here we show the reproducible feasibility of a 2-session GKS procedure using higher radiation doses, the first dose to treat the tumor and the second to treat the trigeminal nerves using retrogasserian targeting.
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Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) guidelines recommend to maintain mean arterial pressures (MAPs) above 85 mm Hg for 7 days following SCI to minimize spinal cord ischemia. Some physicians doubt that patients with initially complete injuries benefit. ⋯ A positive correlation was observed between MAP values and neurologic recovery in AIS A, B, and C patients but not AIS D patients. These data raise the possibility that patients with an initially complete SCI may derive greater benefit from MAP augmentation than patients with initial AIS D injuries.
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Case Reports
The medial extra-sellar corridor to the cavernous sinus: Anatomic description and clinical correlation.
The zenith of surgical interest in the cavernous sinus peaked in the 1980s, as evidenced by reports of 10 surgical triangles that could access the contents of the lateral sellar compartment (LSC). However, these transcranial approaches later became marginalized, first by radiosurgery's popularity and lower morbidity, and then by clinical potential of endoscopic corridors noted in several qualitative studies. Our anatomic study, taking a contemporary look at the medial extra-sellar corridor, gives a detailed qualitative-quantitative analysis for its use with increasingly popular endoscopic endonasal approaches to the cavernous sinus. ⋯ Our re-examination of this particular surgical access into the LSC refines the understanding of the medial extra-sellar corridor as a main endoscopic access route to this compartment. Achieving safe access to the contents of the LSC, this 11th triangle is clinically relevant and potentially superior for select lesions in this region.