World Neurosurg
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Restenosis after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a potential complication after surgery for carotid stenosis. Stroke after CEA is a debilitating complication secondary to restenosis, and modification of postoperative care may be necessary to decrease the incidence of postoperative stroke after CEA. We sought to identify the clinical and patient factors that are associated with this complication. ⋯ Our findings suggest that a family history of stroke is an important factor that predisposes patients to restenosis after CEA. Restenosis-free survival is influenced by the presence of hyperlipidemia, age, and family history of stroke. Closer surveillance with more frequent follow-up and multidisciplinary management may be beneficial in patients who have these risk factors to prevent restenosis and prolong restenosis-free survival.
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Delayed rupture of a previously coiled unruptured aneurysm is extremely rare, and no hemodynamic analysis of such aneurysms has been reported during the postprocedural course. ⋯ Heterogeneous hemodynamic characteristics were involved in the outcomes of intracranial aneurysm after endovascular treatment. High-flow impingement and WSS were associated with recanalization and regrowth, whereas low WSS was associated with aneurysm rupture.
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Splitting of the optic nerve by a pituitary adenoma is an extremely unusual condition with only 3 cases reported to date. ⋯ In aneurysm and tumor cases, awareness of the exact anatomy is particularly important to preserve function. An overlooked duplication or penetration of cranial nerves may result in inadvertent injury to important structures and loss of function.
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Medial lenticulostriate artery (MLSA) aneurysms are rare; to our knowledge, only 2 cases without an association with moyamoya disease have been documented. We treated a ruptured dissecting aneurysm of the distal MLSA surgically using a tube retractor. ⋯ There is no definitive strategy to treat distal MLSA aneurysms. Our experience illustrates that natural healing of the vessel wall cannot be expected in all cases. Therefore, less-invasive direct surgical as well as endovascular treatment should not be ruled out in patients with ruptured distal MLSA aneurysms.
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Although technical skills are fundamental in neurosurgery, there is little agreement on how to describe, measure, or compare skills among surgeons. The primary goal of this study was to develop a quantitative grading scale for technical surgical performance that distinguishes operator skill when graded by domain experts (residents, attendings, and nonsurgeons). Scores provided by raters should be highly reliable with respect to scores from other observers. ⋯ Technical skills of neurosurgery residents recorded during craniotomy can be measured with high interrater reliability. Surgeons and nonsurgeons alike readily distinguish different skill levels. This type of assessment could be used to coach residents, to track performance over time, and potentially to compare skill levels. Developing an objective tool to evaluate surgical performance would be useful in several areas of neurosurgery education.