The World Neurosurgery Global Champions Program: First-Year Experience of a Model Initiative for Reducing Disparities in Global Neurosurgical Literature.

Objective: Most surgical journals are published in English, representing a challenge for researchers from non-Anglophone countries. We describe the implementation, workflow, outcomes, and lessons learned from the WORLD NEUROSURGERY Global Champions Program (GCP), a novel journal-specific English language editing program for articles rejected because of poor English grammar or usage.

Methods: The GCP was advertised via the journal website and social media.

Transfer of extensor carpi radialis brevis branch of radial nerve to anterior interosseous nerve for lower trunk brachial plexopathy after motor vehicle accident.

The patient is a 15-year-old male who sustained injury to his right lower brachial plexus (C8-T1) in a motor vehicle accident. Six months after the injury, the patient still had persistent hand weakness and wished to regain function in his first and second digits. Transfer of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) branch of the radial nerve to the anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) was performed to restore motor function.

Management of nonoperative cervical spine fractures: An institutional analysis of follow-up duration and image acquisition.

Background: How long do nonoperative cervical fractures have to be followed and with how many imaging studies?

Methods: We reviewed 69 adult patients with 122 (31 occiptocervical and 91 sub-axial) cervical fractures; at least one of the cervical fractures was managed nonoperatively. Outcomes were assessed along with the optimal follow-up duration and frequency of various diagnostic studies.

Results: An average of four follow-up visits occurred on average 28-, 66-, 94-, and 158-day post hospital discharge.

Practice Patterns of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Placement in Academic and Community Settings: A National Survey of Practicing Neurosurgeons.

Objective: We sought to assess the practice patterns of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) placement by neurosurgeons at academic, community, and government-based institutions.

Methods: Using the American Association of Neurological Surgeons directory, a total of 3673 practicing neurosurgeons were contacted. The survey received 495 responses (57% academic, 41% community, 3% other/government based).

A systematic review of amino acid PET in assessing treatment response to temozolomide in glioma.

The response assessment in neuro-oncology (RANO) criteria have been the gold standard for monitoring treatment response in glioblastoma (GBM) and differentiating tumor progression from pseudoprogression. While the RANO criteria have played a key role in detecting early tumor progression, their ability to identify pseudoprogression is limited by post-treatment damage to the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which often leads to contrast enhancement on MRI and correlates poorly to tumor status. Amino acid positron emission tomography (AA PET) is a rapidly growing imaging modality in neuro-oncology.

Utility of machine learning algorithms in degenerative cervical and lumbar spine disease: a systematic review.

Machine learning is a rapidly evolving field that offers physicians an innovative and comprehensive mechanism to examine various aspects of patient data. Cervical and lumbar degenerative spine disorders are commonly age-related disease processes that can utilize machine learning to improve patient outcomes with careful patient selection and intervention. The aim of this study is to examine the current applications of machine learning in cervical and lumbar degenerative spine disease.

A systematic review of the utility of amino acid PET in assessing treatment response to bevacizumab in recurrent high-grade glioma.

Background: Currently, bevacizumab (BEV), an antiangiogenic agent, is used as an adjunctive therapy to re-irradiation and surgery in patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas (rHGG). BEV has shown to decrease enhancement on MRI, but it is often unclear if these changes are due to tumor response to BEV or treatment-induced changes in the blood brain barrier. Preliminary studies show that amino acid PET can aid in distinguishing these changes on MRI.

Women in Neurosurgery Around the World: A Systematic Review and Discussion of Barriers, Training, Professional Development, and Solutions.

Background: Women have been a minority in neurosurgery since the foundation of the specialty. Women who choose to pursue neurosurgery or advance in their career must overcome various obstacles. In this article, we discuss the proportion of women in neurosurgery globally and the obstacles they face, as well as the solutions being implemented.

Robotics in spine surgery: A systematic review.

Robotic systems to assist with pedicle screw placement have recently emerged in the field of spine surgery. Here, the authors systematically reviewed the literature for evidence of these robotic systems and their utility. Thirty-four studies that reported the use of spinal instrumentation with robotic assistance and met inclusion criteria were identified.

Percutaneous Thoracic Spinal Cord Stimulator Placement.

Spinal cord stimulation is a safe, effective, and reversible method for the management of chronic neuropathic pain. Spinal cord stimulation was found to be superior to traditional conservative management in recent clinical trials. The superiority of this therapeutic strategy is in part due to the many benefits, such as decreased use of prescription pain medications, cost-effectiveness, and improvement in patient quality of life.