World Neurosurg
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The middle fossa craniotomy for tegmen defect repair provides wide access. This approach often requires temporal lobe manipulation, lumbar drain placement, and longer recovery. We describe a keyhole middle fossa approach with a simple titanium skull base repair that allows for wide access with no temporal lobe manipulation and does not require lumbar drain placement, which results in a dramatic reduction in hospital length of stay. ⋯ A minimally invasive keyhole middle fossa approach with a multilayer dural reconstruction including titanium mesh "gull wing" skull base repair provides a quick, effective treatment for a broad spectrum of tegmen defects and meningoencephaloceles. This exposure and reconstruction technique do not require the use of a lumbar drain and result in minimal hospitalization.
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Traditional manual retraction to access deep-seated brain lesions has been associated with complications related to vascular compromise of cerebral tissue. Various techniques have been developed over time to minimize injury, such as self-sustaining retractors, neuronavigation, and endoscopic approaches. Recently, tubular retractors, such as the ViewSite Brain Access System (VBAS), have been developed to reduce mechanical damage from retraction by dispersing the force of the retractor radially over the parenchyma. Therefore, we sought to review the current literature to accurately assess the indications, benefits, and complications associated with use of VBAS retractors. ⋯ This report is the first formal assessment of the VBAS, highlighting technical considerations of the retractor from the surgeon's perspective, patient outcomes, and complications. The retractor is a safe and efficacious tubular retraction system that can be used for tumor biopsy and resection, colloid cyst removal, hematoma evacuation, and removal of foreign bodies. However, further randomized controlled trials are indicated to accurately assess complication rates and outcomes.
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To investigate outcomes and prognostic factors of ruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms, treated via endovascular approach, with improving treatment materials and techniques. ⋯ Endovascular treatment for patients with ruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms may offer favorable clinical and angiographic outcomes. With the evolution of treatment materials and updated techniques, treatment complications have become less common than previously reported in literature, and clinical outcomes have been improved in recent years.
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Aulus Cornelius Celsus lived in Rome during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He developed the scientific Latin, and his work De Medicina was the first medical textbook to be written in Latin, and subsequently the first medical treatise to be printed. He perhaps was a simple medical writer rather than a real physician, but his contributions to medical knowledge are outstanding. ⋯ He also provided the first description of brain swelling exceeding the level of the skull, described several surgical indications and craniotomy techniques, recommended treatment for depressed fractures (which had been previously considered untreatable), and detailed the surgical instruments employed. De Medicina was based on the previous Greek medical knowledge, but Celsus also provided original innovations, personal observations, and even comments and criticisms. Despite the fact that he was almost forgotten during the Middle Age, most of his concepts and surgical advices remained in the medical background of the following 2 millennia.
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Communication issues play a major role within neurosurgery. There has been a growing awareness of the necessity of enhanced patient-centered communication between the physician and patient to improve patient satisfaction, compliance, and outcomes. ⋯ Despite the recent recognition of the critical role that communication plays in all aspects of medical care, multiple impediments hinder the improvement and use of effective techniques. We have identified 8 unique barriers to the advancement of communication practices: lack of recognition of the importance of communication skills; cognitive bias; sense that it "takes too much time"; cultural hierarchy within medicine; lack of formal communication skill training; fear that disclosure of medical errors will lead to malpractice litigation; the electronic medical record; and frequent shift changes and handoffs.