Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2004
Case ReportsSuccessful treatment of a ruptured dissecting basilar artery aneurysm. Case report.
Dissecting basilar artery (BA) aneurysms in patients presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage are life threatening, especially in those who experience subsequent bleeding or progressive dissection, and immediate surgical or endovascular intervention may be necessary. The authors report on a 52-year-old woman whose dissecting BA aneurysm was treated successfully with proximal occlusion and flow reversal. ⋯ Postoperative angiograms obtained 1 year later revealed good retrograde flow through the BA and dilation of the radial arterial graft. There were no episodes of recurrent hemorrhage.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2004
Clinical TrialMinimally invasive implantation of epidural spinal cord neurostimulator electrodes by using a tubular retractor system. Technical note.
The authors describe a novel technique for the implantation of multipolar epidural spinal cord neurostimulator electrodes with the aid of a tubular retractor system. Spinal cord neurostimulation is used as a neuroaugmentive tool for treating chronic intractable pain syndromes. Minimally invasive placement of the multipolar neurostimulator electrodes may allow for shorter hospital stays and less postoperative pain associated with the incision.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2004
Case ReportsEffect of subthalamic nucleus stimulation on obsessive-compulsive disorder in a patient with Parkinson disease. Case report.
The authors report on a patient with Parkinson disease (PD) and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), in whom bilateral stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) was used to treat both PD and OCD symptoms. This 49-year-old man had displayed symptoms of PD for 13 years. Progressively, his motor disability became severe despite optimal medical treatment. ⋯ The pre- and postoperative Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores were 32 and 1, respectively. No additional antiparkinsonian drugs were administered. This case and other recent reports indicate that OCD symptoms can be improved by deep brain stimulation, a finding that opens new perspectives in the surgical treatment of severe and medically intractable OCD.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2004
Case ReportsAnterolateral thigh fasciocutaneous flap for simultaneous reconstruction of refractory scalp and dural defects. Report of two cases.
Infected full-thickness defects of the calvaria including the scalp, cranial bone, and dura mater, are often refractory to treatment and pose a difficult and urgent therapeutic problem for reconstructive surgeons. The authors report two cases in which successful reconstruction was achieved in one stage by using an anterolateral thigh fasciocutaneous flap. The well-vascularized fascia components were used to repair the infected dural defects. The skin flaps were used for coverage reconstruction.