Acta neurochirurgica. Supplement
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
ReviewPeriduroscopy: general review of clinical features and development of operative models.
Myeloscopy is a useful approach for both diagnosis and treatment of back pain. However clinicians have underestimated its potential. From the nineties myeloscopy has been used only as a diagnostic tool, without any improvement of the technique. Racz's method is nowadays still used for the lysis of adherence by applying medical solutions without a direct vision inside the spinal channel. In 1998 we showed the limitations of Racz's approach, and in 1999 we developed a new technique, introducing a Fogarty balloon to remove the occlusions of the spinal canal and the resaflex for the lysis of adherence at low temperature (Raffaeli-Righetti technique). In this paper we report a general review of our experience with periduroscopy for the treatment of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and spinal stenosis. ⋯ myeloscopy technique enlightens pain-triggering mechanisms otherwise unrevealed; it has specific therapeutic value, whereas on the diagnostic side it has not revealed relevant pathologies. Its effectiveness in FBSS patients is high, with the advantage of its relatively easy implementation, limited invasiveness and repeatability.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialLong term intrathecal infusion of opiates for treatment of failed back surgery syndrome.
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS) is a multidimensional painful condition and its treatment remains a challenge for the surgeons. Prolonged intrathecal infusion of opiates for treatment of noncancer pain also remains a controversial issue. The authors present a prospective study about the long-term treatment of 30 patients with nonmalignant pain treated with intrathecal infusion of morphine from February, 1996 to May, 2004. ⋯ There was improvement of the quality of life measured by SF-36 (30.8-49.6) and in all dimensions of the Treatment of Pain Survey, except for working capacity. The follow-up period ranged from 18 to 98 months (mean = 46.7 months). It was concluded that intrathecal infusion of morphine is a useful and safe tool for long-term treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Review Historical ArticleA clinical review of cerebral vasospasm and delayed ischaemia following aneurysm rupture.
The continuation of a review of delayed vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage, originally published in 1994 and partially updated at the ninth vasospasm conference in Turkey, is presented. Further online and physical searches have been made of the relevant literature. The incidence of delayed ischaemic deficit (DID) or symptomatic vasospasm reported in 1994 was 32.5% in over 30,000 reported cases. ⋯ It thus appears likely that delayed vasospasm is still common but less so, and that the overall outcome has improved. This may be due to the more widespread use of calcium antagonists and more effective fluid management. A number of other mechanical and drug treatments are also mentioned.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
O-arm guided balloon kyphoplasty: preliminary experience of 16 consecutive patients.
Balloon kyphoplasty is now widely used for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. Excellent pain relief is achieved with cement injection, but the safety of the procedure relays on excellent radiological exposure. The balloon kyphoplasty technique is usually performed using one or two C-Arm devices to allow correct antero-posterior (AP) and lateral view throughout the surgical procedure. ⋯ We prospectively evaluate on 16 consecutive patients, the feasibility of the O-Arm guided kyphoplasty procedure with the original, usual tools, and we measured the fluoroscopy time and the X-ray exposure. We didn't experience any device related problem and demonstrated a significant reduction of X-ray exposure and time of fluoroscopy. We believe that using this new intraoperative system, the overall time of surgery and fluoroscopy could still be reduced in a near future.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Fever increased in-hospital mortality after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Fever is a common clinical complication in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and is usually related to prognosis in early stage of diseases. In our study, we try to help improve the outcome of SAH by assessing possible risk factors for fever and investigating the influence of fever on in-hospital mortality. ⋯ Poor Hunt-Hess grade, presence of IVH and older age are independent predictors of fever in SAH. Fever is closely related to increased in-hospital mortality after SAH.