Selective dorsal rhizotomy: Analysis of two rootlet sectioning techniques.

Objective: To analyze and compare the efficacy of two selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) techniques with intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring, using instrumented three-dimensional gait analysis.

Introduction: SDR is a common, irreversible surgical treatment increasingly used to address gait disturbances in children with chronic non-progressive encephalopathy by reducing spasticity. Various techniques have been used, which mainly differ in the percentage of rootlets selected for sectioning.

Safe First-Time use of Stereotactic Headband Fixation in a 5-Month-Old Child: An Economical and Easily Accessible Method.

Objective: We present a low-cost and easily accessible adaptation system to perform stereotactic procedures in infants.

Methods: We used an adaptive device consisting of a headband with a plaster bandage, cotton bandage roll, and gauze bandages. Prior to its clinical application, the device was tested in our neuroscience laboratory using a simulation model of a size similar to that of a 5-month-old infant, during which no complications arose.

"Ping-pong" fracture: An exclusive entity of neonates and infants? A case analysis and literature review.

Background: "Ping-pong" fractures are a type of depressed fracture in which there is no rupture of the inner or outer table of the skull. It is produced by incomplete bone mineralization. Its appearance is frequent during neonatal and infant ages and is extremely rare outside of these age periods.

Ventriculoatrial shunt displacement by a central venous catheter in pediatrics: report of two atypical cases.

Introduction: The treatment of hydrocephalus accounts for 40% of all procedures in pediatric neurosurgery. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement is the treatment of choice for most patients. When contraindicated due to different abdominal complications, the use of a ventriculoatrial shunt is a safe second option.

Results of training with a low-cost simulation model for endoscope-assisted scaphocephaly repair.

Objective: Endoscope-assisted repair of sagittal craniosynostosis is an effective technique that requires a learning curve. Surgical simulation models can be applied to acquire the necessary skills for this procedure. Several models with a wide range of costs have been described for training in this technique.

Intratumoral catheter placement in pediatric patients with diffuse midline gliomas.

Introduction: Diffuse midline brainstem gliomas have a poor prognosis and are generally not amenable to surgical resection. Occasionally, palliative surgical procedures can be performed to improve the quality of life of these patients. We describe three patients with solid-cystic brainstem gliomas in whom an Ommaya reservoir catheter was placed to reduce mass effect.

Giant Supratentorial Brain Tumors in Children: Functional Outcome and Progression-Free Survival Analysis.

Introduction: This study aimed to identify factors affecting progression-free survival (PFS) in pediatric patients with giant supratentorial brain tumors (GSBTs) treated with surgical excision. The secondary aim was to analyze how these same factors affected the functional outcome in the long term.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, analytical, single-center cohort study.

Cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma. Retrospective cohort study assessing postoperative functional outcome, cerebellar mutism and hydrocephalus.

Objective: Analyze a series of pediatric patients with cPAs evaluating factors that may modify or determine the final outcome in terms of neurological status, CMS and hydrocephalus.

Materials And Methods: Single Center, retrospective cohort study of surgical patients with cPA and at least 12 months of follow-up. Clinical, imaging and surgical features, histopathology and adjuvancy were assessed.

Parental sensitivity and specificity to recognize shunt malfunction in their child: a single-center prospective study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the diagnostic performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value) for recognizing ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) failure in the parents of patients 0-18 years of age who attended the hospital's emergency room (ER). The second objective was to identify the factors associated with the parents' ability to recognize the shunt blockage (true positives).

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between 2021 and 2022 including all patients 0-18 years of age who had a VPS and attended the hospital's ER with symptoms that could correspond to VPS blockage.

Case report: double dermal sinus tracts of the cervical and thoracic spine associated with congenital intracranial pathology (hydrocephalus and an interhemispheric cyst) in a newborn patient.

Introduction: A dermal sinus tract (DST) is an uncommon type of spinal dysraphisms characterized by a tract lined with stratified squamous epithelium that extends from the subcutaneous tissue to the underlying thecal sac or neural tube. These developmental anomalies can present asymptomatically with cutaneous abnormalities or with devastating complications. Usually, it is presented as a unique lesion, and there are only a few reports that show multiple sinuses, and none of them associated with midline brain malformations.

Long-tunneled versus short-tunneled external ventricular drain: a quasi-experimental study in a cohort of pediatric patients.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to compare external ventricular drain (EVD)-related infection rates and mechanical complications between long-tunneled EVDs (LTEVDs) with an interposed valve and short-tunneled EVDs (STEVDs) in a cohort of pediatric patients. The second objective was to compare hospital resources used for LTEVDs versus STEVDs in the same cohort of patients and the same study period.

Methods: The study consisted of a quasi-experimental investigation comparing a prospective group of patients who received LTEVDs with a retrospective (historic) cohort of patients treated with STEVDs.

Surgical treatment of a patient with a giant choroidal fissure cyst: a case report.

Introduction: Choroidal fissure cysts (CFC) are usually an incidental finding on imaging and lead to morbidity only in rare cases. The aim of this study was to present the case of a patient with a giant CFC and its treatment.

Case Report: The patient was a male infant of 9 days of life that presented with symptoms of intracranial hypertension.

Lumbosacral DREZotomy for oncologic pain treatment: a case-based review.

Purpose: To present 3 cases of oncologic pain treated by DREZotomy in the pediatric population and to review the literature published about this procedure.

Methods: The permanent literature about oncologic pain treatment in children and the applicability of DREZotomy was reviewed. Three cases treated at our institution were reviewed and presented.

Cranial dermal sinuses in pediatrics: Presentation, diagnosis, complications, and management. Experience at a tertiary care children's hospital.

Introduction: A cranial dermal sinus is a tubular tract resulting from the incomplete separation of the epithelial ectoderm from the neuroectoderm which may lead to infectious complications. There have been isolated reports of this condition.

Objective: A cranial dermal sinus is a tubular tract resulting from the incomplete separation of the epithelial ectoderm from the neuroectoderm which may lead to infectious complications.

A Low-Cost Simulation Model for Endoscopic-Assisted Sagittal Craniosynostosis Repair.

Objective: The objective is to introduce a low-cost simulation model for endoscopic-assisted sagittal craniosynostosis repair in which bleedings can be simulated and to present the initial experience using the model as a learning tool.

Methods: A 3-dimensional synthetic skull was printed using polylactic acid. The brain, dura mater, sagittal sinus, and skin were constructed using low-cost materials.

Neuroendoscopic lavage for the treatment of pyogenic ventriculitis in children: personal series and review of the literature.

Introduction: Pyogenic ventriculitis is a severe infection of the central nervous system with serious and often irreversible consequences in the quality of life of patients. Its treatment is difficult due to the impossibility of achieving sterility of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the physiological characteristics promptly. Several treatment options have been described, from prolonged antibiotic treatments to placement of ventricular drains with continuous irrigation and puncture reservoirs.

Closure of a large lumbosacral myelomeningocele defect with a human pericardial graft: a case report.

Introduction: Myelomeningocele (MMC) is a complex congenital defect resulting from incomplete closure of the neural tube. The aim of this study is to present an unusual technique for the closure of a large defect.

Case Report: Here we report a patient that was prenatally diagnosed with MMC.

Risk factors for surgical site infection in pediatric posterior fossa tumors.

Purpose: Posterior fossa tumors are the most frequent pediatric solid tumor. Its main treatment is a surgical resection. Being a frequent procedure does not mean that it is exempt from complications, such as surgical site infections (SSI).

High-flow vascular malformations of the brain in pediatrics: Experience in a tertiary care children's hospital.

Introduction: High-flow vascular malformations of the brain are uncommon in pediatrics.

Objective: The objective of this study is to establish the differences among these pathologies and group them by age at onset, clinical manifestations, and angioarchitecture.

Population And Method: This was a retrospective and observational study.

Hemorrhagic cerebral proliferative angiopathy in two pediatric patients: case reports.

Cerebral proliferative angiopathy (CPA) is an infrequent vascular malformation. It is composed of a nidus, arterial feeders, and venous drainage. Some special features differentiate it from the common arteriovenous malformations (AVM).

Choroid plexus cyst causing acute hydrocephalus and transtentorial herniation: report of a rare case and its successful neuroendoscopic treatment.

Choroid plexus cysts (CPC) are a frequent incidental neuroimaging finding and completely asymptomatic in the vast majority of cases. We hereby describe a rare case of acute hydrocephalus secondary to a CPC, atypical in size, location and presentation, which required urgent neuroendoscopic management. There are very few reported cases of CPC causing obstructive hydrocephalus.

Abdominal complications in patients with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt: proposal for management recommendations from a single pediatric tertiary center.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe our experience in the management of patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunt-related complications (abdominal pseudocyst, bowel-related complications, and ascites) and to propose treatment recommendations.

Material And Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunt-related abdominal complications seen between 2009 and 2019 at a tertiary-care pediatric center. Patients were classified according to their diagnosis into the following: group A (abdominal pseudocyst), group B (bowel-related complications), and group C (ascites).

Meningo-orbital band detachment: A key step for the extradural exposure of the cavernous sinus and anterior clinoid process.

The meningo-orbital band (MOB) is the most superficial dural band that tethers the fronto-temporal dura to the periorbita. It is usually encountered when performing a pterional or fronto-temporo-sphenoidal approach, and it disrupts surgical access to deeper regions. Our objective was to perform a detailed anatomy study and a stepwise method to successfully detach the MOB using cadaveric specimens.

Flow ventricular catheters for shunted hydrocephalus: initial clinical results.

Background: The non-homogenous flow of the cerebrospinal fluid within the ventricular catheter is one of the causative factors in shunt obstructions during the treatment of hydrocephalus. Previously, we studied the flow in ventricular catheters under the steady and pulsatile boundary conditions by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in three-dimensional paradigms. Subsequently, several catheter designs with homogeneous flow patterns were developed out of which one prototype was chosen after a validation study.