Neurosurgery
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Letters of recommendation (LORs) are one of the most important components of the neurosurgical residency application. Studies in other fields and surgical subspecialties have found gender bias. ⋯ Overall, there are more similarities than differences between genders in LORs for neurosurgical applicants. This finding is at odds with what has previously been reported in most other surgical specialties.
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Many physicians consider aneurysmal wall enhancement (AWE) on high resolution-vessel wall imaging (HR-VWI) as an imaging biomarker of unstable unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs). ⋯ The AWE on HR-VWI was correlated with the PHASES and ELAPSS scores and the color. The stronger the AWE, the higher were the PHASES and ELAPSS scores and the more abnormal was the color. The AWE might indicate the degree of inflammation.
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT) is an effective therapy for patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Best practices for surgical targeting of the ANT can be refined as new information becomes available regarding effective stimulation sites. ⋯ Consistent with experience from more established DBS indications, our findings and other recent reports suggest that there may be specific sites within the ANT that are associated with superior clinical outcomes. It will be important to continue to evaluate these relationships and the evolution of other clinical practices (eg, programming) to further optimize this therapy.
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Within the literature, there has been limited research tracking the career trajectories of international medical graduates (IMGs) following residency training. ⋯ Our study suggests that while IMGs begin their US residency training with different research backgrounds and achievements relative to USMG counterparts, they attain similar levels of academic productivity following residency. Furthermore, IMGs are more likely to pursue academic careers relative to USMGs. Our work may be useful for better understanding IMG career trajectories following US-based neurosurgery residency training.
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There is a growing body of evidence suggesting not all craniotomy patients require postoperative intensive care. ⋯ In our pilot trial of the NICE protocol, no patients required postoperative transfer to the ICU.