Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma: Dura Mater Invasion Is Not a Predictor of Acromegaly Persistence After Trans-Sphenoidal Surgery.

: In pituitary adenomas, examinations of surgical specimens have shown that dural invasion occurs in 42-85% of cases. No studies about dura mater invasion have been conducted specifically in acromegaly patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between histologically dural invasion and the main features of GH-secreting adenomas.

Parasellar region meningiomas with optic canal (OC) invasion: Correlation between the degree of decompression of the OC and the improvement of visual acuity.

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between the degrees of circumferential decompression of the optic canal (OC) and the improvement of visual acuity in patients with parasellar meningiomas (PMs) with optic canal invasion.

Methods: This is a monocentric retrospective study conducted at author's institution. The visual acuity was evaluated preoperative and at 3-months after surgery with Snellen acuity test.

Introducing endoscopic assistance on routinary basis for vestibular schwannomas resection: A single centre acceptance analysis.

Objective: The use of endoscopic assistance in retrosigmoid approach for tumors of the cerebellopontine angle brought undoubted technological advantages in skull base surgery. Nonetheless, the use of the endoscope is not as widespread as it could be. The aim of the study is to analyze the impressions of neurosurgeons and otologists with different experience in vestibular schwannoma surgery, experiencing the introduction of the endoscope in surgical daily practice.

Lesson learned in endoscopic endonasal dens resection for C1-C2 spinal cord decompression.

Purpose: Endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) is the safest and most effective technique for odontoidectomy. Nevertheless, this kind of approach is yet not largely widespread. The aim of this study is to share with the scientific community some tips and tricks with our ten-year-old learned experience in endoscopic endonasal odontoidectomy (EEO), which remains a challenging surgical approach.

Facial nerve outcome score: a new score to predict long-term facial nerve function after vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Introduction: Patients' quality of life (QoL), facial nerve (FN), and cochlear nerve (CN) (if conserved) functions should be pursued as final outcomes of vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery. In regard to FN function, different morphologic and neurophysiological factors have been related to postoperative outcomes. The aim of the current retrospective study was to investigate the impact of these factors on the short- and long-term FN function after VS resection.

3D-printed guides for cervical pedicle screw placement in primary spine tumor: Case report and technical description.

Introduction: For spine surgeons, dealing with unstable cervical spine has been usually challenging, and this becomes more difficult when facing a primary craniovertebral junction tumor. Primary spine tumor surgery should always include column reconstruction in order to guarantee biomechanical stability of the spine, but surgeons should always be aware that instrumentations could create interferences with postoperative radiations. However, although carbon fiber instrumentations have started to be used in thoracolumbar oncology for few years, these options are still not available for cervical spine.

Three-Dimensional Patient-Matched Template Guides Are Able to Increase Mean Diameter and Length and to Improve Accuracy of Cortical Bone Trajectory Screws: A 5-Year International Experience.

Objective: To analyze whether significant differences exist between free-hand three-dimensional (3D) planning-guided cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screw placement and 3D-printed template-guided CBT screw positioning in terms of accuracy, size of screws, and potential complications.

Methods: In this retrospective study, data of adult patients in whom CBT screws were placed for lumbar degenerative pathologies were extracted from a prospectively collected database and analyzed. Patients in whom screws were placed using free-hand 3D planning-guided technique were compared with patients in whom screws were positioned using customized 3D-printed templates.

Quality of Life After Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery: Validation and Reliability of the Italian Version of the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test for Neurosurgery (SNOT-NC).

Objective: Expanded endonasal approaches (EEA) have become the main approach to the anterior skull base. A specific questionnaire, the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test for Neurosurgery (SNOT-NC), was developed in German to assess quality of life after EEA. The aim of this study was the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Italian version of SNOT-NC.

Craniovertebral junction chordomas: Case series and strategies to overcome the surgical challenge.

Introduction: Chordomas are rare and malignant primary bone tumors. Different strategies have been proposed for chordomas involving the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) compared to other locations. The impossibility to achieve en bloc excision, the impact on stability and the need for proper reconstruction make their surgical management challenging.

Endoscopic resection of supergiant pituitary adenoma.

Background: Giant pituitary adenomas are a rare finding and the literature is inconclusive regarding the most appropriate approach. In supergiant adenomas, where the size of the tumor is exceptional, both a combine approach versus a solely transcranial or endoscopic approach have been reported.[2,3,5].

Obesity and Spine Surgery: A Qualitative Review About Outcomes and Complications. Is It Time for New Perspectives on Future Researches?

Study Design: Literature review.

Objectives: An increasing number of obese patients requires operative care for degenerative spinal disorders. The aim of this review is to analyze the available evidence regarding the role of obesity on outcomes after spine surgery.

Solitary late spinal metastasis from apocrine salivary duct carcinoma: Case report.

Background: The salivary duct carcinomas (SDCs) are rare, high-grade neoplasms involving major salivary glands. Parotid is the most frequently involved gland (85%). Apocrine phenotype (histological presence of decapitation secretions) and androgen reception expression define SDC.

Skull base reconstruction: A question of flow? A critical analysis of 521 endoscopic endonasal surgeries.

Introduction: Post-operative CSF leak still represents the main drawback of Endoscopic Endonasal Approach (EEA), and different reconstructive strategies have been proposed in order to decrease its rate.

Objective: To critically analyze the effectiveness of different adopted reconstruction strategies in patients that underwent EEA.

Materials And Methods: Adult patients with skull base tumor surgically treated with EEA were retrospectively analyzed.

III cranial nerve cavernous malformation: A case report and review of the literature.

Background: Cavernous malformations generally occur in brain parenchyma but rarely these lesions arise from cranial nerves (CNs).

Case Description: This paper described a case of a woman presented with III CN dysfunction due to the presence of a right III CN cavernoma. Surgical treatment with nerve sparing gross total resection was performed.

Principles of Cortical Plasticity in Peripheral Nerve Surgery.

Cortical plasticity is a finely regulated process that allows the central nervous system (CNS) to change in response to internal and external stimuli. While these modifications occur throughout normal brain development, interestingly, they are also elicited after peripheral nerve injury and surgery. This article provides an overview of the principle mechanisms of synaptic, neuronal, cortical and subcortical neuroplasticity, with special attention to cortical and subcortical modifications-as suggested by modern neuroimaging techniques-after peripheral nerve surgery.