Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2008
Biography Historical ArticleWilliam P. van Wagenen and the first corpus callosotomies for epilepsy.
As a trainee of Dr. Harvey Cushing, cofounder and first president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and founder of a prestigious international academic fellowship, Dr. William P. van Wagenen is an important figure in the history of neurological surgery. ⋯ Akelaitis, which led to the description of some features of "split-brain" patients 2 decades before similar work in the 1960s eventually resulted in a Nobel Prize for Roger W. Sperry in 1981. These contributions firmly establish William P. van Wagenen as one of the founding pioneers in the surgical treatment of patients with epilepsy.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2008
Long-term outcome following radical temporal bone resection for lateral skull base malignancies: a neurosurgical perspective.
Primary temporal bone malignancy is a rare form of tumor for which the therapeutic strategy remains controversial. In this study, the authors reviewed their experience with radical temporal bone resection (TBR) of such lesions and analyzed the long-term results to provide treatment recommendations. ⋯ The neurosurgical skull base technique could improve the probability of en bloc resection with a tumor-free margin for extensive temporal bone malignancies, which would cure a subset of patients. The active participation of neurosurgeons would improve patient care in this field.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2008
Functional assessment of C-5 ventral rootlets by intraoperative electrical stimulation of the supraclavicular segment of the long thoracic nerve during brachial plexus surgery.
Anatomical and functional assessment of the intradural segment of the spinal nerves is imperative in brachial plexus surgery, as the repair of postganglionic elements in the setting of a confirmed nerve root avulsion is of no benefit. None of the current techniques to detect these avulsions can provide full information that ensures the functional status of the preganglionic segment of the roots. The objective of this study was to evaluate intraoperative electrical stimulation of the supraclavicular segment of the long thoracic nerve (LTN) as a method to differentiate C-5 nerve root extraforaminal rupture from its intradural avulsion. ⋯ Intraoperative electrical stimulation of the supraclavicular segment of the LTN is a useful complementary method to test the functional status of the C-5 ventral rootlets. If the test is positive (that is, a response is present) it is indicative of extraforaminal rupture of the root, and if negative, it is suggestive of its avulsion.