Endoscopic third ventriculostomy with choroid plexus cauterization: predictors of long-term success and comparison with shunt placement for primary treatment of infant hydrocephalus.

Objective: Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) with choroid plexus cauterization (CPC) can avoid ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) dependence in very young hydrocephalic children, although long-term success as a primary treatment in North America has not been previously reported. Moreover, optimal age at surgery, impact of preoperative ventriculomegaly, and relationship to prior cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion remain poorly defined. The authors compared ETV/CPC and VPS placement for averting reoperation, and they evaluated preoperative predictors for reoperation and shunt placement after ETV/CPC.

Predictors of progression in radiation-induced versus nonradiation-induced pediatric meningiomas: a large single-institution surgical experience.

Objective: The goal in this study was to outline unique differences between radiation-induced and nonradiation-induced pediatric meningiomas and to identify independent risk factors of tumor recurrence/progression.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of all pediatric meningiomas diagnosed and surgically treated at the authors' institution between 1993 and 2017. Multivariable Cox regression was applied to identify independent risk factors for tumor recurrence/progression.

Postoperative MR imaging surveillance of pediatric craniopharyngioma: new institutional guidelines.

Purpose: To develop postoperative surveillance protocols that yield efficient detection rates of tumor recurrence or progression using fewer imaging studies and less cost.

Method: This is a retrospective cohort study of all pediatric craniopharyngioma patients who have been diagnosed and treated at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH) between 1990 and 2017. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata.

Single-institution case series of pituitary biopsy for suspected germinoma in the pediatric population: diagnostic utility, operative risks, and biopsy approaches.

Little has been reported on the safety and efficacy of pituitary biopsy in the pediatric population for suspected germinoma. An updated review is needed. Patients who underwent biopsy (endoscopic endonasal vs.

Surgical volume of simple tethered spinal cord releases: review of a large pediatric neurosurgical service experience.

Objective: The aim of this study was to retrospectively review, from a single busy pediatric neurosurgical service, a consecutive series of patients who had undergone surgery for a simple tethered spinal cord, which was defined by a thickened or fatty filum terminale with a normal conus. The hope was to contribute to benchmark data regarding the expected frequency of surgery for this condition.

Methods: The authors reviewed the electronic medical records of every patient with diagnosed simple tethered spinal cord, defined on spinal MRI as a thickened (> 2 mm in diameter) or fatty filum terminale, and who had undergone primary filum section at Boston Children's Hospital between 2005 and 2011.

The utility of intraoperative MRI during pediatric brain tumor surgery: a single-surgeon case series.

Objective: The authors sought to evaluate the utility of intraoperative MRI (ioMRI) during brain tumor excision in pediatric patients and to suggest guidelines for its future use.

Methods: All patients who underwent brain tumor surgery by the senior author at Boston Children's Hospital using ioMRI between 2005 and 2009 were included in this retrospective review of hospital records and the neurosurgeon's operative database. Prior to the review, the authors defined the utility of ioMRI into useful and not useful categories based on how the technology affected operative management.