Surgical neurology international
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Coagulation accomplished using bipolar forceps is common in neurosurgery. Control of thermal spread from the forceps tips into surrounding neural tissues is a persistent concern, as neural tissues are especially vulnerable to heat injury. The purpose of our investigation was to compare the efficacy of cooling mechanisms for four different bipolar forceps and to understand thermal spread when coagulating vessels on the spinal cord. ⋯ Bipolar forceps incorporating either heat-pipe embedded technology or SILVERGlide coating can effectively limit excessive thermal spread, thus decreasing potential injury to adjacent tissues when compared with standard stainless steel and titanium bipolar forceps. Of the two, heat-pipe embedded technology appeared safest, having better cooling efficiency at higher temperature.
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Metastatic Ewing's sarcoma to the central nervous system is an uncommon condition and debate concerning the true origin of its metastases is still up to date. To the best of our knowledge, only two cases of dural metastatic Ewing's sarcoma have been published in the English medical literature. We present an additional case in a 24-year-old female and discuss the pathogenesis of these unusual tumors with review of the relevant literature concerning their treatment and outcome. ⋯ Despite its rarity, metastatic Ewing's sarcoma must be considered in the differential diagnosis of extra-axial dural masses particularly meningiomas.
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Considering wide variations regarding the incidence of trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) during cranial neurosurgical procedures, and paucity of reliable data, we intended to design a prospective study to determine the incidence of TCR in patients undergoing standard general anesthesia for surgery of supra/infra-tentorial cranial and skull base lesions. ⋯ TCR is a rare phenomenon during brain surgeries when patient is anesthetized using standard techniques. Keeping the adequate depth of anesthesia using CSI monitoring method may be an advisable strategy during whole period of a neurosurgical procedure.
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The pipeline embolization device (PED) provides effective, durable and safe endovascular reconstruction of large and giant intracranial aneurysms. However, 80% of all cerebral aneurysms found in the general population are less than 10 mm in size. Treatment of small aneurysms (<10 mm) with flow diverters may be advantageous over endosaccular modalities that carry risks of procedural rupture during aneurysm access or coil placement. ⋯ Small (<10 mm) ICA aneurysm treatment with PED implantation is safe and carries a high rate of early angiographic success.
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In this study, we present the previously unreported pain relief outcomes of 108 patients treated at Gamma Knife of Spokane for typical trigeminal neuralgia (TN) between 2002 and 2011. ⋯ GKRS is a safe and effective management approach for patients diagnosed with typical TN. However, further studies and supporting research is needed on the effects previous surgical treatment, number of radiosurgery procedures, and maximum radiosurgery dose have on GKRS clinical outcomes.