Sports after single-suture synostosis surgery: a survey of Synostosis Research Group members.

Objective: Patients with a history of surgery for single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) as an infant often wish to participate in sports later in childhood. However, there are no established guidelines from neurosurgeons and craniofacial surgeons to guide parents in which sports their child should or should not participate. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practice patterns of experienced neurosurgeons and craniofacial surgeons regarding the counseling of caregivers of these patients about sports participation.

Bedside transfontanelle drain placement reduces the need for operative intervention in infants with subdural fluid collections.

Objective: Subdural fluid collection is a common neurosurgical condition in the pediatric population. Patients requiring surgical intervention have historically been managed with subdural drains, subdural-subgaleal shunting, subdural-peritoneal shunting, and mini-craniotomies. An alternative procedure for patients with an open anterior fontanelle is bedside transfontanelle drainage.

Pediatric Palliative Epilepsy Surgery: A Report From the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) Surgery Database.

Background: Epilepsy surgery is an underutilized resource for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Palliative and definitive surgical options can reduce seizure burden and improve quality of life. Palliative epilepsy surgery is often seen as a "last resort" compared to definitive surgical options.

Cranial bone thickness and density anomalies quantified from CT images can identify chronic increased intracranial pressure.

Purpose: The diagnosis of chronic increased intracranial pressure (IIP)is often based on subjective evaluation or clinical metrics with low predictive value. We aimed to quantify cranial bone changes associated with pediatric IIP using CT images and to identify patients at risk.

Methods: We retrospectively quantified local cranial bone thickness and mineral density from the CT images of children with chronic IIP and compared their statistical differences to normative children without IIP adjusting for age, sex and image resolution.

Pediatric neuromodulation for drug-resistant epilepsy: Survey of current practices, techniques, and outcomes across US epilepsy centers.

Neuromodulation via Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS) or Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an emerging treatment strategy for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Knowledge gaps exist in patient selection, surgical technique, and perioperative care. Here, we use an expert survey to clarify practices.

Epilepsy surgery in children with genetic etiologies: A prospective evaluation of current practices and outcomes.

Objective: This study assesses current practices and outcomes of epilepsy surgery in children with a genetic etiology. It explores the pre-surgical workup, types of surgeries, and post-surgical outcomes in a broad array of disorders.

Methods: Patients ≤18 years who completed epilepsy surgery and had a known genetic etiology prior to surgical intervention were extrapolated from the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium (PERC) surgery database, across 18 US centers.

A multi-center comparison of surgical techniques for corpus Callosotomy in pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy.

Objectives: Corpus callosotomy (CC) is used to reduce seizures, primarily in patients with generalized drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). The invasive nature of the procedure contributes to underutilization despite its potential superiority to other palliative procedures. The goal of this study was to use a multi-institutional epilepsy surgery database to characterize the use of CC across participating centers.

Two-photon microendoscope for label-free imaging in stereotactic neurosurgery.

We demonstrate a gradient refractive index (GRIN) microendoscope with an outer diameter of ∼1.2 mm and a length of ∼186 mm that can fit into a stereotactic surgical cannula. Two photon imaging at an excitation wavelength of 900 nm showed a field of view of ∼180 microns and a lateral and axial resolution of 0.

Postoperative general medical ward admission following Chiari malformation decompression.

Objective: Prior to 2019, the majority of patients at Children's Hospital Colorado were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) following Chiari malformation (CM) decompression surgery. This study sought to identify the safety and efficacy of postoperative general ward management for these patients.

Methods: After a retrospective baseline assessment of 150 patients, a quality improvement (QI) initiative was implemented, admitting medically noncomplex patients to the general ward postoperatively following CM decompression.

Somatic variants in diverse genes leads to a spectrum of focal cortical malformations.

Post-zygotically acquired genetic variants, or somatic variants, that arise during cortical development have emerged as important causes of focal epilepsies, particularly those due to malformations of cortical development. Pathogenic somatic variants have been identified in many genes within the PI3K-AKT-mTOR-signalling pathway in individuals with hemimegalencephaly and focal cortical dysplasia (type II), and more recently in SLC35A2 in individuals with focal cortical dysplasia (type I) or non-dysplastic epileptic cortex. Given the expanding role of somatic variants across different brain malformations, we sought to delineate the landscape of somatic variants in a large cohort of patients who underwent epilepsy surgery with hemimegalencephaly or focal cortical dysplasia.

Intracranial pressure monitoring during stereoelectroencephalography implantation: a technical note.

Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) has become increasingly employed as a critical component of epilepsy workups for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy when information from noninvasive studies is not conclusive and sufficient to guide epilepsy surgery. Although exceedingly rare, clinically significant hemorrhagic complications can be caused during SEEG implantation procedures. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) can be difficult to recognize due to the minimally invasive nature of SEEG.

Smaller Knife, Fewer Seizures? Recent Advances in Minimally Invasive Techniques in Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery.

Children with drug-resistant epilepsy are at high risk for developmental delay, increased mortality, psychiatric comorbidities, and requiring assistance with activities of daily living. Despite the advent of new and effective pharmacologic therapies, about one in 5 children will develop drug-resistant epilepsy, and most of these children continue to have seizures despite trials of other medication. Epilepsy surgery is often a safe and effective option which may offer seizure freedom or at least a significant reduction in seizure burden in many children.

Comparison of subdural grid and stereoelectroencephalography in a cohort of pediatric patients.

Objective: To compare adverse events and outcomes between stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) and subdural electrode (SDE) implantation in children.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 108 patients who underwent intracranial monitoring with SEEG or SDE implantation at Children's Hospital Colorado between January 2011 and June 2019.

Results: There were 47 patients who underwent 53 SEEG implantations and 61 patients who underwent 64 SDE implantations, with an average age of 12.

Real-World Preliminary Experience With Responsive Neurostimulation in Pediatric Epilepsy: A Multicenter Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Despite the well-documented utility of responsive neurostimulation (RNS, NeuroPace) in adult epilepsy patients, literature on the use of RNS in children is limited.

Objective: To determine the real-world efficacy and safety of RNS in pediatric epilepsy patients.

Methods: Patients with childhood-onset drug-resistant epilepsy treated with RNS were retrospectively identified at 5 pediatric centers.

Vascularized Pericranial Flap as a Method to Prevent Persistent Skull Defects After Craniectomy for Sagittal Synostosis.

Some cranial defects resulting from sagittal craniectomy for craniosynostosis never completely close and require cranioplasty. This study evaluates the results of 2 methods to minimize such defects: (1) trapezoidal craniectomy that is narrower posteriorly (2) vascularized pericranial flap that is sewn to the dura under a rectangular craniectomy.Children who underwent primary open sagittal craniectomy with biparietal morcellation (with/without frontal cranioplasty) for single-suture nonsyndromic sagittal synostosis from 2013 through 2018 were included.

Evolution of a Virtual Multidisciplinary Cleft and Craniofacial Team Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Children's Hospital Colorado Experience.

Multidisciplinary care in the era of COVID mitigation presented a unique opportunity to evolve a multidisciplinary Telehealth experience at the Children's Hospital Colorado. We describe our experience in developing unique programming to remain in compliance with an experience as recommended by the Parameters of Care while integrating information technology accessible via the electronic health record, multimedia adjuncts, and the integration of multiple institutional participants in creating a platform to offer care via Telehealth. Visit structure, planning, implementation, and advantages and disadvantages of the programming are discussed.

Placement of leads for stereotactic electroencephalography without the use of anchor bolts: technical note.

Objective: Stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG) is an increasingly common technique that neurosurgeons use to help identify the epileptogenic zone. The anchor bolt, which typically secures the electrode to the skull, can be problematic in very thin bone or in electrodes placed in the occiput.

Methods: A technique is described to place electrodes without the use of an anchor bolt.

The utility of magnetic resonance imaging in pediatric trauma patients suspected of having cervical spine injuries.

Background: Pediatric cervical spine injuries (CSI) are rare but potentially devastating sequelae of blunt trauma. Existing protocols to evaluate children at risk for CSI frequently incorporate computed topography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); however, the clinical value of performing both remains unclear.

Methods: Single-center retrospective review of pediatric trauma patients who underwent both CT and MRI of the cervical spine between 2001 and 2015.

Ripple-related firing of identified deep CA1 pyramidal cells in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy in mice.

Objective: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is often associated with memory deficits. Reactivation of memory traces in the hippocampus occurs during sharp-wave ripples (SWRs; 140-250 Hz). To better understand the mechanisms underlying high-frequency oscillations and cognitive comorbidities in epilepsy, we evaluated how rigorously identified deep CA1 pyramidal cells (dPCs) discharge during SWRs in control and TLE mice.