Neurosurgery
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An early maximal safe surgical resection is the current treatment paradigm for low-grade glioma (LGG). Nevertheless, there are no reliable methods to accurately predict the axonal intratumoral eloquent areas and, consequently, to predict the extent of resection. ⋯ Intratumoral DTI-based tractography is a simple and reliable method, useful in assessing glioma resectability based on the analysis of intratumoral eloquent areas associated with motor and language tracts within the tumor.
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Ocular fundus abnormalities, especially intraocular hemorrhage, may represent a clinically useful prognostic marker in patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). ⋯ Although ocular fundus abnormalities are associated with disease severity in SAH, they do not add value to patients' acute management beyond other risk factors already in use.
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Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement remains the primary treatment modality for children with hydrocephalus. However, morbidity and revision surgery secondary to infection remains high, even while using antibiotic-impregnated shunts. ⋯ These data suggest that for this select group of patients, use of intraventricular antibiotics was associated with decreased rates of re-intervention secondary to infection.
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Multiple percutaneous vertebral cement augmentation may create sandwich vertebrae. Whether the sandwich vertebra is at higher risk of further fracture remains unknown. ⋯ The incidence of sandwich vertebral fracture is not higher than that at the adjacent levels. The factor associated with further sandwich vertebral fracture was male gender. Once sandwich vertebral fracture occurred, patients may seek more surgical intervention than those with only adjacent fractures.
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Elevated body mass index (BMI) is a well-known risk factor for surgical complications in lumbar surgery. However, its effect on surgical effectiveness independent of surgical complications is unclear. ⋯ Increasing BMI is associated with decreased effectiveness of 1- to 3-level elective lumbar fusion, despite absence of surgical complications. BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 is, therefore, a risk factor for both surgical complication and reduced benefit from lumbar fusion.