Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2009
The role of surgery for high-grade intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas: importance of obliteration of venous outflow.
Surgical intervention may be required if endovascular embolization is insufficient to completely obliterate intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs). The authors report their 14-year experience with 23 patients harboring diverse intracranial DAVFs that required surgical intervention. ⋯ The authors' experience emphasizes the importance of occluding venous outflow to obliterate intracranial DAVFs. Those that drain purely through leptomeningeal veins can be safely obliterated by surgically clipping the arterialized draining vein as it exits the dura. Radical excision of the fistula is not necessary.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2009
The role of indirect extracranial-intracranial bypass in the treatment of symptomatic intracranial atheroocclusive disease.
The optimal treatment of medically refractory intracranial atheroocclusive disease remains unclear. The EC-IC Bypass Study Investigators found that patients with internal carotid and middle cerebral artery (ICA and MCA) occlusion received no benefit from direct superficial temporal artery to MCA bypass, and that patients with ICA occlusion and MCA stenosis may have actually fared worse after surgery, perhaps in part due to flow reversal in critical perforator-bearing segments. Although the results of recent investigations have suggested that direct bypass may be beneficial in a subgroup of patients with hemodynamic failure secondary to unilateral ICA occlusion, similar data do not exist for patients with hemodynamic failure from other intracranial stenoocclusive diseases. Indirect bypass via encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis offers a surgical alternative that may avoid rapid flow reversal while providing additional flow to at-risk, distal vascular territories. ⋯ The authors found that indirect bypass does not promote adequate pial collateral artery development and appears to be of limited utility in patients with symptomatic ICA or MCA stenoocclusive disease and secondary hemodynamic failure. Rates of postoperative TIAs or cerebral infarctions after indirect bypass in this patient population do not differ from previous reports in patients who received medical management only.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2009
The role of endoscopic third ventriculostomy in adult patients with hydrocephalus.
Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is the treatment of choice for hydrocephalus, but the outcome is dependent on the cause of this disorder, and the procedure remains principally the preserve of pediatric neurosurgeons. The role of ETV in adult patients with hydrocephalus was therefore investigated. ⋯ The success rate of ETVs in adults is comparable, if not better, than in children. In addition to the well-defined role of ETV in the treatment of hydrocephalus caused by tumors and aqueduct stenosis, ETV may also have a role in the management of CM-I, LOVA, persistent shunt infection, and IVH resistant to other CSF diversion procedures.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2009
ReviewSimvastatin for the prevention of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a single-institution prospective cohort study.
Vasospasm is the major cause of disability and death after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Although the results of 2 randomized clinical trials demonstrated that statin decreases the incidence of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm after aSAH, retrospective studies have failed to confirm this. The authors conducted a prospective observational study to determine whether a standardized regimen of simvastatin would reduce the incidence of cerebral vasospasm and improve neurological outcomes in patients with aSAH. ⋯ The uniform introduction of simvastatin did not reduce the incidence of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm, death, or poor outcome in patients with aSAH. Simvastatin was well tolerated, but its benefit may be less than has been previously reported.