Neurosurgery
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Historical Article
A fantastic voyage: a personal perspective on involvement in the development of modern stereotactic and functional neurosurgery (1974-2004).
Stressing environments, individuals, ideas, and global events, this historical stereotactic and functional neurosurgical vignette initially presents a review of factors in the genesis of personal interest and the foundations of involvement in the discipline of neurological surgery. The vignette then traces the development of concepts and instrumentation and their ultimate practical utilization in patient care on the neurosurgical services at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California over the course of a 3-decade period (1974-2004). The article summarizes and elaborates details of contributions to the literature and complex involvement on the national and international levels as the refinements and capabilities of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery have been reinvented over a generation through the emergence of new technology, ideas, individual ingenuity, and active collegial exchange.
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To review a series of patients who underwent surgical removal of intramedullary spinal cord tumors, focusing on the long-term functional outcome, recurrence rates for the various tumors, and technical problems continually debated in neurosurgical practice. ⋯ Determinant predictors of a good outcome after surgery for intramedullary spinal cord tumors are histological type of lesion, complete removal of the lesion, and a satisfactory neurological status before surgery.
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Juxtafacet cysts of the lumbar spine are a recognized cause of back pain, radicular symptoms, neurogenic claudication, and, less often, cauda equina compression syndrome. Hemorrhagic rupture of a juxtafacet cyst and the resulting epidural hematoma may cause chronic and/or acute cauda equina compression. ⋯ Rarely, juxtafacet cysts of the lumbar spine may rupture and hemorrhage into the epidural space causing symptomatic cauda equina compression. It is important to consider this entity when evaluating the patient with cauda equina compression. The findings of these cases give insight into the clinical presentation, operative treatment, and outcome in these patients.
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Intraoperative monitoring of transcranial motor evoked potentials (TcMEPs) has been investigated recently as a means of preventing motor deficits associated with resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs). In this study, we hypothesized that changes in the intraoperative MEPs during tumor resection correlate with postoperative motor function deficits. ⋯ These results support the application of distal muscle-recorded TcMEPs to predict the occurrence and severity of postoperative motor deficits during resection of IMSCTs. Attention to such quantitative intraoperative monitoring data may help to minimize postoperative motor deficits by avoiding or correcting excessive spinal cord manipulation and modifying surgical technique during tumor resection.
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To describe the occurrence of secondary insults using a computerized monitoring data collecting system and to investigate their relationship to outcome when the neurointensive care was dedicated to avoiding secondary insults. ⋯ Overall, the secondary insults were rare, except for high CPP. The results suggest that patients with traumatic brain injury might benefit from a CPP slightly less than 60 mm Hg.