Peripheral nerve stimulation for the treatment of chronic knee pain.

The average age of our population is increasing, resulting in a high incidence of chronic degenerative knee pathologies. Several treatment options, including surgical procedures are available to help mitigate these pathologies. However, the percentage of subjects with chronic post-surgical knee pain is still estimated at 16-20%.

The association of patient age with postoperative morbidity and mortality following resection of intracranial tumors.

Introduction: The postoperative functional status of patients with intracranial tumors is influenced by patient-specific factors, including age.

Research Question: This study aimed to elucidate the association between age and postoperative morbidity or mortality following the resection of brain tumors.

Material And Methods: A multicenter database was retrospectively reviewed.

Surgery for brain metastases: radiooncology scores predict survival-score index for radiosurgery, graded prognostic assessment, recursive partitioning analysis.

Background: Radiooncological scores are used to stratify patients for radiation therapy. We assessed their ability to predict overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing surgery for metastatic brain disease.

Methods: We performed a post-hoc single-center analysis of 175 patients, prospectively enrolled in the MetastaSys study data.

Endoscope-assisted visualization of 5-aminolevulinic acid fluorescence in surgery for brain metastases.

Objective: Fluorescence-guided resection of cerebral metastases has been proposed as an approach to visualize residual tumor tissue and maximize the extent of resection. Critics have argued that tumor cells at the resection margins might be overlooked under microscopic visualization because of technical limitations. Therefore, an endoscope, which is capable of inducing fluorescence, has been applied with the aim of improving exposure of fluorescent tumor tissue.

Implantation of Carmustine wafers after resection of malignant glioma with and without opening of the ventricular system.

Objective: Implantation of biodegradable Carmustine wafers in patients with malignant glioma is not generally recommended when the ventricular system is opened during tumor resection. Thrombin/fibrinogenn-covered collagen fleeces showed promising results in sufficiently closing ventricular defects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative morbidity in patients with implanted Carmustine wafers either with opened or intact ventricular system.

Survival after resection of brain metastases with white light microscopy versus fluorescence-guidance: A matched cohort analysis of the Metastasys study data.

Background: Metastatic brain disease continues to have a dismal prognosis. Previous studies achieved a reduction of local recurrence rates by aggressively resecting the peritumoral zone (supramarginal resection) or using 5-aminolaevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence. The aim of the present study is to assess whether the use of 5-ALA has an impact on local recurrence or survival compared to conventional white light microscopic tumor resection.

Development and external validation of a clinical prediction model for functional impairment after intracranial tumor surgery.

Objective: Decision-making for intracranial tumor surgery requires balancing the oncological benefit against the risk for resection-related impairment. Risk estimates are commonly based on subjective experience and generalized numbers from the literature, but even experienced surgeons overestimate functional outcome after surgery. Today, there is no reliable and objective way to preoperatively predict an individual patient's risk of experiencing any functional impairment.

Endoscopic Fluorescence-Guided Resection Increases Radicality in Glioblastoma Surgery.

Background: Several studies have proven the benefit of a greater extent of resection on progression-free survival and overall survival in glioblastoma (GBM). Possible reasons for incomplete tumor resection might be wrong interpretation of fading fluorescence or overseen fluorescent tumor tissue by a lacking line of sight between tumor tissue and the microscope.

Objective: To evaluate if an endoscope being capable of inducing fluorescence might overcome some limitations of microscopic fluorescence-guided (FG) resection.