Neurosurg Focus
-
The use of minimally invasive noninstrumented fusions has increased as thoracoscopic approaches to the spine have evolved. The addition of instrumentation is infrequent, in part because of the lack of a minimally invasive implant system. The authors describe a technique for thoracoscopic plating after discectomy and report early clinical outcomes. ⋯ The authors conclude that thoracoscopic discectomy and plate-instrumented fusion can be achieved with acceptable results and morbidity. Further studies should evaluate the role of instrumented fusions after thoracoscopic discectomy in larger groups of patients and during a longer follow-up period.
-
Multicenter Study
Neuroendoscopic biopsy of ventricular tumors: a multicentric experience.
Although neuroendoscopic biopsy is routinely performed, the safety and validity of this procedure has been studied only in small numbers of patients in single-center reports. The Section of Neuroendoscopy of the Italian Neurosurgical Society invited some of its members to review their own experience, gathering a sufficient number of cases for a wide analysis. ⋯ This is one of the largest series confirming the safety and validity of the neuroendoscopic biopsy procedure. Complications were relatively low (about 13%), and they were all reversible. Neuroendoscopic biopsy provided meaningful pathological data in 90% of patients, making subsequent tumor therapy feasible. Cerebrospinal fluid pathways can be restored by ETV or septum pellucidotomy (65%) to control intracranial hypertension. In light of the results obtained, a neuroendoscopic biopsy should be considered a possible alternative to the stereotactic biopsy in the diagnosis and treatment of ventricular or paraventricular tumors. Furthermore, it could be the only surgical procedure necessary for the treatment of selected tumors.
-
The purpose of this study was to analyze preoperative predictors of endocrinological remission following endonasal endoscopic resection of therapy-resistant prolactin-, growth hormone (GH)-, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenomas and to establish benchmarks for cure by using the most recent consensus criteria. ⋯ This paper reports benchmarks for endocrinological cure as well as complications in a large series of purely endoscopic pituitary surgeries by using the most recent consensus criteria. The advantages of extended endonasal approaches are most profound in tumors with suprasellar extension and CS invasion.
-
Because of their size and lateral extension, total removal of nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) remains a challenge and postoperative tumor remnants are frequent. Endoscopy has improved the surgeon's view; however, its superiority in terms of surgical outcome remains undetermined. The authors' aim in this study was to compare the clinical results and morbidity between microscopic and endoscopic techniques in 164 patients with NFPAs. ⋯ In this large series of patients with NFPAs, endoscopy improved the quality of resection and endocrinological outcome. Larger studies focusing on the impact of these promising results on the long-term recurrence of NFPAs are warranted.
-
Neuroendoscopic treatment of colloid cysts is limited by the reach and flexibility of the instruments that can be passed through the working channels of the rigid neuroendoscope. The authors describe a case of a third ventricular colloid cyst where a large solid colloid fragment was recovered using a nitinol stone retrieval basket as a flexible wall-guided atraumatic salvage instrument. ⋯ A flexible nitinol stone retrieval basket can be safely and effectively maneuvered in the ventricular system, using the ventricular wall for deflection, and can be used to retrieve colloid cyst fragments as a salvage technique. Remaining free-floating large colloid cyst fragments in the ventricular system do not necessarily require a second craniotomy or bur hole for access but may be retrieved using a nitinol stone retrieval basket.