Surg Neurol
-
Transthoracic discectomy is an established surgical procedure for the treatment of thoracic disk disease. Most authors advocate interbody fusion after transthoracic discectomy. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any adverse consequences in foregoing interbody fusion after transthoracic discectomy. ⋯ These results indicate that interbody fusion may not be necessary for selected patients undergoing transthoracic discectomy. Further long-term follow-up is needed to evaluate the development of late spinal instability and resultant deformity after this procedure.
-
Intracranial aneurysms in children (< or =18 years old) are rare, and their epidemiology is poorly understood. We present a prospective 14-year experience at our institution and review the literature to clarify the characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients with intracranial aneurysms. ⋯ During recent decades, good outcomes after the treatment of ruptured and unruptured pediatric aneurysms have increased, reaching 95% in the current series. Pediatric intracranial aneurysms occur more commonly in male patients and have a predilection for the terminal ICA bifurcation.
-
Incidental diagnosis of Rathke's cleft cysts (RCCs) has increased due to the improvements in imaging techniques; however, symptomatic cases are rare and accurate preoperative diagnosis can be difficult. ⋯ Rathke's cleft cysts is a rare pathology with a wide spectrum of clinical and radiological features. Reactive inflammation of the normal pituitary gland may have a role in the pathogenesis of hormonal deficiency, in addition to compression. Preoperative recognition of the anteriorly displaced normal residual gland may be important in avoiding postoperative hormonal deficiency after transsphenoidal approach.
-
Scarce information about the anatomy of the subependymal arteries (SEAs) is present in the scientific literature. ⋯ The SEAs are tiny vessels that supply the walls of the lateral ventricle, as well as the caudate nucleus and the stria terminalis occasionally. The obtained anatomic data can have important neurosurgical implications in intraventricular operations.