World Neurosurg
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Case Reports
Multimodal Monitoring Strategy Is Decisive in Elective Middle Cerebral Artery Aneurysm Clipping: A Case Report.
The intraoperative use of neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) and indocyanine green video angiography (ICGVA) for aneurysm clipping have evolved during the last years. Both modalities are useful and safe by allowing greater rates of complete aneurysm occlusion with less intraoperative complications and postoperative neurologic deficits. We report a case of attempted aneurysm clipping in which the combined use of ICGVA and IONM was crucial for intraoperative decision-making. ⋯ The combination of IONM and ICGVA during aneurysm surgery allows for a better assessment of vascular integrity and patient's postoperative outcome than ICGVA alone. Simultaneous evaluation of vessel patency and integrity of the somatosensory and motor pathways illustrates the complementarity of testing different modalities for intraoperative decision-making and for maximizing safeness in aneurysm clipping.
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The compression of the offending vessel on the facial nerve at root exit zone is considered as the leading cause of hemifacial spasm (HFS). However, the correlation between the severity of spasm and the pressure of neurovascular compression (NVC) has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical correlation between the severity of HFS and the pressure of NVC. ⋯ The severity of HFS exhibited a strong positive correlation with the intraoperative offending vessel's pressure values. Thus, the neurovascular pressure is a significant factor in the pathogenesis of HFS.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Cost-effectiveness of a Radio Frequency Hemostatic Sealer (RFHS) in Adult Spinal Deformity surgery.
Patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion surgery can lose a substantial amount of blood. This can prolong operative time and require transfusion of allogeneic blood components, which increases the risk of infection and can be the harbinger of serious complications. Does a saline-irrigated bipolar radiofrequency hemostatic sealer (RFHS) help reduce transfusion requirements? ⋯ The cost-effectiveness analysis revealed that if we are willing to pay $108 to avoid 1 unit of blood transfusion, the use of the RFHS is a reasonable choice to use in open surgery for adult spinal deformity.
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Although Africa accounts for 15% of the global volume of neurosurgical disease, African hospitals and health care networks have access to <1% of the neurosurgeon community. Health care and neurosurgical care are particularly scarce in sub-Saharan Africa due to long periods of imperialism, civil war, poverty, and famines that have plagued the area. ⋯ Partnerships between developing countries and sub-Saharan African countries may be the starting point in supplying neurosurgical specialists to the countries in need.
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Acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) have been established as promising alternatives to autologous nerve grafts, which represent the reference standard. Our research group recently performed a systematic review of reported cell-based-enriching methods for recellularization of ANAs. Recellularization results in consistent improvement of peripheral neuroregeneration compared with plain ANAs. We systematically reviewed the effects on nerve regeneration when ANA enrichment was obtained through biological, chemical, and physical modification instead of cells. ⋯ Noncellular-based stimulation of ANAs demonstrated positive effects on recovery of nerve function compared with nerve grafting compared with plain ANAs. The neuroregenerative effect of autografting still appeared superior to ANAs, even with noncellular enrichment of ANAs. However, we found that in a few studies, modified ANAs closely approached or even outperformed autografts. Future research should include more preclinical investigations of this promising tool and clinical translation to increase the level of evidence available in the challenging field of peripheral nerve reconstruction.