Fifty consecutive hemispherectomies: outcomes, evolution of technique, complications, and lessons learned.

Background: Techniques for achieving hemispheric disconnection in patients with epilepsy continue to evolve.

Objective: To review the outcomes of the first 50 hemispherectomy surgeries performed by a single surgeon with an emphasis on outcomes, complications, and how these results led to changes in practice.

Methods: The first 50 hemispherectomy cases performed by the lead author were identified from a prospectively maintained database.

Posthemispherectomy hydrocephalus: results of a comprehensive, multiinstitutional review.

Purpose: Hemispherectomy surgery for medically intractable epilepsy is known to cause hydrocephalus in a subset of patients. Existing data regarding the incidence of, and risk factors for, developing posthemispherectomy hydrocephalus have been limited by the relatively small number of cases performed by any single center. Our goal was to better understand this phenomenon and to identify risk factors that may predispose patients to developing hydrocephalus after hemispherectomy surgery.

Corpus callosotomy in multistage epilepsy surgery in the pediatric population.

Object: The object of this study was to evaluate surgical outcome in a select group of patients with medically refractory epilepsy who had undergone corpus callosotomy combined with bilateral subdural electroencephalography (EEG) electrode placement as the initial step in multistage epilepsy surgery.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 18 children (ages 3.5-18 years) with medically refractory symptomatic generalized or localization-related epilepsy was undertaken.

Spinal dural closure with nonpenetrating titanium clips in pediatric neurosurgery.

Object: The authors report a retrospective review of their experience using nonpenetrating titanium anastomotic clips for dural closure in 27 pediatric cases (26 patients) of spinal surgery for a variety of diagnoses. The goal of this review was to define the utility of these clips in pediatric neurosurgical spinal procedures, identify complications of their use, and assess the effects on postoperative imaging because of their use.

Methods: Institutional review board approval was obtained for a retrospective chart review of all patients in whom titanium dural clips had been utilized.

'Children and obesity: a pan-European project examining the role of food marketing'.

Background: Rising levels of obesity in school-age children across Europe are causing increasing concern. The 'Children, Obesity and associated avoidable Chronic Diseases' project sought to examine the effects of promotion within food marketing, given the influential role it plays in children's diets.

Method: A questionnaire and data-collection protocol was designed for the national co-ordinators, facilitating standardized responses.