Neurosurgery
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Medically refractory cluster headache (CH) is a debilitating condition for which few surgical modalities have proven effective. Previous reports involving short-term follow-up of CH patients have reported modest degrees of pain relief after radiosurgery of the trigeminal nerve ipsilateral to symptom onset. With the recent success of deep brain stimulation as a surgical modality for these patients, it becomes imperative for the long-term risks and benefits of radiosurgery to be more extensively delineated. To address this issue, we present our findings from the largest retrospective series of patients undergoing radiosurgery for CH with extended follow-up periods. ⋯ Although some patients may experience short-term pain relief, none had relief sustainable for longer than 2 years. The results from this series indicate that radiosurgery of the trigeminal nerve does not provide long-term pain relief for medically refractory CH.
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To report on the clinical characteristics of pain and factors influencing pain intensity in patients with missile-caused nerve injuries. ⋯ Pain syndromes after missile-caused nerve injury differ significantly regarding time of pain onset, pain characteristics, and other symptoms and signs. The type of pain syndrome, multiple nerve damage, and early onset of pain are independent predictors of initial pain intensity. Although medical history and physical examination are the main diagnostic keys, nerve exploration preceded by a nerve block and sympathetic block are safe and useful adjuvant diagnostic procedures.
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To study the biomechanical behavior of lumbar interbody instrumentation techniques using titanium cages as either transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) or anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), with and without posterior pedicle fixation. ⋯ With pedicle screw fixation, the ALIF cage provides a higher segmental stability than the TLIF cage in flexion-extension and axial rotation, but the absolute biomechanical differences are minor. The different cage design and approach show only minor differences of segmental stability when combined with posterior pedicle screw fixation.
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Few could have imagined the tremendous growth of endovascular surgery over the past 40 years. Endovascular therapy has greatly enhanced the care of the patient in neurosurgery, spine surgery, and head and neck surgery. Progress in technology and techniques continue to push forward the boundaries of what is deemed "treatable," assuming acceptable risk. ⋯ Maximizing the accessibility of these routes to highly specific regions of the central nervous system provides an elegant and minimalist approach to treating diseases of the central nervous system with almost no "footprints" of ever having accessed the region. In the future, safe, efficient and intelligent delivery systems that may enhance or alter the tissue's response may result in successful treatment of cerebrovascular diseases, as well as other diseases of the craniospinal axis. The growth of nanotechnology, metallurgy, synthetic polymers, imaging, and training will all combine to help grow the technology and the science that is surgical endovascular neuroradiology.
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Increasing systolic and pulse pressure with bradycardia and respiratory irregularity are signs of increased intracranial pressure, leading to cerebral herniation and fatal brainstem compression. This phenomenon, the vasopressor response, is generally known as the Cushing reflex based on Harvey Cushing's experimental work in Europe in 1901 and 1902. ⋯ Cushing initially failed to give credit to the work of these predecessors. Nonetheless, he studied the brain's reaction to compression more carefully than previous researchers and offered an improved explanation of the pathophysiology of the phenomenon named after him.