Neurosurgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Grading of subarachnoid hemorrhage: modification of the world World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies scale on the basis of data for a large series of patients.
The goals of this study were to use a large, prospectively collected, multicenter database for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) who were treated between 1991 and 1997 to determine the prognostic significance of clinical and radiological factors for outcomes and to use those factors to develop a grading scale to predict outcomes. ⋯ Outcome prediction after SAH can be improved by adding additional clinical and radiological factors to the WFNS scale, albeit with added complexity.
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The purpose of this article is to update the neurosurgical community on the expanding field of surgical robotics and to present the design of a novel neurosurgical prototype. It is intended to mimic standard technique and deploy conventional microsurgical tools. The intention is to ease its integration into the "nervous system" of both the traditional operating room and surgeon. ⋯ Breadboard testing of the prototype components has shown spatial resolution of 30 microm, greatly exceeding our expectations. Neurosurgeons will not only be able to perform current procedures with a higher margin of safety but also must speculate on techniques that have hitherto not even been contemplated. This includes coupling the robot to intelligent tools that interrogate tissue before its manipulation and the potential of molecular imaging to transform neurosurgical research into surgical exploration of the cell, not the organ.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Subdural patch graft technique for watertight closure of large dural defects in extended transsphenoidal surgery.
The most common postoperative complication of the transsphenoidal approach is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea. If the dura is widely opened beyond the sellar floor and massive intraoperative CSF leakage is encountered, then the conventional packing method, in which the sella turcica is filled with pieces of fat or muscle, demonstrates a relatively high incidence of CSF rhinorrhea. For more reliable prevention of postoperative CSF leakage, we developed a method for watertight closure of large dural defects. ⋯ The subdural double-layer patch graft technique is simple and reliable for the prevention of CSF rhinorrhea after transsphenoidal surgery associated with a widely opened dura.
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Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important regulator of angiogenesis, the formation of which is triggered by hypoxia, cytokines, and growth factors and is also induced by activation of the adenosine 2B receptor. VEGF is neuroprotective in several models of experimental brain injury and is increased in brain after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in humans and experimental animals. Adenosine is a neuroprotective purine metabolite that increases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after clinical TBI in children. We hypothesized that VEGF levels would 1). be increased in CSF after TBI in infants and children, and 2). be preceded by increases in CSF adenosine. To test this hypothesis, we designed a case-control study to compare the CSF of infants and children after severe TBI with that of uninjured children. ⋯ VEGF is increased in CSF after pediatric TBI, and this increase is associated with an increase in CSF adenosine. These results may imply that a component of the vascular regenerative response of the brain is initiated rapidly after TBI and continues for several days after injury. Further investigation is warranted to determine 1). whether this association is causative, 2). the role of adenosine in triggering the increase in CSF VEGF concentration, and 3). the exact role VEGF that plays after injury.
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To evaluate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)- and microelectrode recording-guided cingulotomy for patients with psychiatric disorders and to develop a new method of mapping lesion location in anterior cingulate cortex that takes into account the significant interindividual variability in callosal morphometry. ⋯ Microelectrode recording is useful for lesion placement. Our system for reporting location in anterior cingulate cortex normalizes for differences in callosal morphometry. These techniques may aid future study.