Awake Surgery for Brain Vascular Malformations and Moyamoya Disease.

Objective: Although a significant amount of experience has accumulated for awake procedures for brain tumor, epilepsy, and carotid surgery, its utility for intracranial neurovascular indications remains largely undefined. Awake surgery for select neurovascular cases offers the advantage of precise brain mapping and robust neurologic monitoring during surgery for lesions in eloquent areas, avoidance of potential hemodynamic instability, and possible faster recovery. It also opens the window for perilesional epileptogenic tissue resection with potentially less risk for iatrogenic injury.

Low-Dose Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannomas: Tumor Control and Cranial Nerve Function Preservation After 11 Gy.

Objectives: This study aims to report tumor control rates and cranial nerve function after low dose (11.0 Gy) Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in patients with vestibular schwannomas.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on 30 consecutive patients with vestibular schwannomas treated from March 2004 to August 2010 with GKRS at the Robert H.

Use of a harvested radial artery graft with preservation of the vena comitantes to reduce spasm risk and improve graft patency for extracranial to intracranial bypass: Technical note.

Background And Significance: The vessels of choice for cerebrovascular high-flow direct bypass procedures are the radial artery and the saphenous vein. Radial artery grafts have become favored over saphenous vein grafts because of higher patency rates and better size matching to appropriate recipient vessels. Radial grafts are prone to spasm however, and this may be seen in 4-10% of cases and can be associated with ischemic sequelae.

Development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing surgery for brain tumors: results from a single center over a 10 year period.

Patients who undergo craniotomy for brain neoplasms have a high risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thromboses (DVT) and pulmonary emboli (PE). The reasons for this correlation are not fully understood. This retrospective, single-center review aimed to determine the risk factors for VTE in patients who underwent neurosurgical resection of brain tumors at Northwestern University from 1999 to 2010.

Venous thromboembolism in high grade glioma among surgical patients: results from a single center over a 10 year period.

Patients with high-grade glioma are at elevated risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The relationship between VTE and survival in glioma patients remains unclear, as does the optimal protocol for chemoprophylaxis. The purpose of this study was to assessthe incidence of and risk factors associated with VTE in patients with high-grade glioma, and the correlation between VTE and survival in this population.

Intracranial aneurysms in previously irradiated fields: literature review and case report.

Objective: Radiotherapy is a common treatment for a variety of disease processes in the central nervous system; it has an ever-increasing number of indications and applications. With the life expectancy of cancer patients increasing, delayed complications of radiation have become more apparent. One such potential complication is the appearance of intracranial aneurysms in the irradiated field.

A didactic and hands-on module enhances resident microsurgical knowledge and technical skill.

Background: Simulation has been adopted as a powerful training tool in many areas of health care. However, it has not yet been systematically embraced in neurosurgery because of the absence of validated tools, assessment scales, and curricula.

Objective: To use our validated microanastomosis module and scale to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention on the performance of neurosurgery residents at the 2012 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Surgical treatment of elevated intracranial pressure: decompressive craniectomy and intracranial pressure monitoring.

Surgical techniques that address elevated intracranial pressure include (1) intraventricular catheter insertion and cerebrospinal fluid drainage, (2) removal of an intracranial space-occupying lesion, and (3) decompressive craniectomy. This review discusses the role of surgery in the management of elevated intracranial pressure, with special focus on intraventricular catheter placement and decompressive craniectomy. The techniques and potential complications of each procedure are described, and the existing evidence regarding the impact of these procedures on patient outcome is reviewed.