World Neurosurg
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Preoperative risk assessment is important, but inexact because physiologic reserves are difficult to measure. When assessing quality of life for patients with brain tumors, having a better predictor of postsurgical outcome would be beneficial in counseling these patients. Frailty is thought to estimate physiologic reserves, and it has been found to predict postoperative complications, length of stay, and discharge to a skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility in patients undergoing various types of surgery. Frailty as an adjunct to preoperative assessment of neurosurgical patients has never been evaluated. This study aimed to determine whether frailty predicts neurosurgical complications in patients with brain tumors and enhances current perioperative risk models. ⋯ Frailty independently predicts discharge disposition, postoperative complications, and length of stay in patients undergoing surgery for brain tumor resection. Preoperative assessment of frailty can help neurosurgeons and patients make more informed decisions about pursing surgical treatment.
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Horner syndrome is an infrequently seen complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Multicenter studies have reported a very low incidence, less than 0.1%. ⋯ Horner syndrome occurs in 0.6% of patients undergoing ACDF. Careful postoperative examination should reveal this complication, which may be underdiagnosed or underreported in larger multicenter case series. The majority of patients experience complete resolution of symptoms within 6 months to 1 year and can be treated conservatively and expectantly.
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Preoperative malnutrition is associated with increased postoperative complication rate and hospital length of stay. However, the degree to which these risks can be mitigated by nutritional consultation has not been well described. To address this, we sought to determine if a preoperative nutrition consult was associated with decreased 30-day complication rate and hospital length of stay. ⋯ On multivariable analysis, receipt of a preoperative nutrition consult was associated with both decreased 30-day complication rate and shorter hospitalization. We therefore posit that greater implementation of nutritional counseling may help to decrease complication rates and expedite discharge in patients undergoing surgical intervention for spinal metastases.
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Pseudoaneurysm after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is rare but is one of the potential complications associated with endovascular procedures. There is limited information regarding its mechanism of formation and the potential risk of delayed bleeding. ⋯ Angiographic and intraoperative findings showed that the mechanism of formation of the pseudoaneurysm was small artery avulsion resulting from deviation of the vessel during withdrawal of the stent retriever. When performing MT in a tortuous distal vessel, the possibility of small artery avulsion should be kept in mind to both prevent and manage critical hemorrhagic complications.
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Persistent idiopathic facial pain is characterized by persistent facial or oral pain in the absence of a neurologic deficit. This underexplored pain may be conducted by various nerves, including cranial nerves and upper cervical spinal roots, and its etiology is unclear. ⋯ Persistent idiopathic facial pain may be cervicogenic, and treatments focusing on cervical spinal roots may provide satisfactory pain control in patients with cervical abnormalities.