Moderate procedural confidence improvement following hands-on practice using the hemispherectomy simulator.

Introduction: Pediatric hemispherectomy is a technically demanding procedure with significant risk. There are relatively few opportunities for surgeon trainees to gain confidence in this nuanced surgery solely through traditional apprenticeship prior to independent practice. Surgeon confidence has been linked to better intraoperative performance and surgical simulation has, according to literature, resulted in improved surgeon confidence.

Design and validation of a hemispherectomy simulator for neurosurgical education.

Objective: Early adaptors of surgical simulation have documented a translation to improved intraoperative surgical performance. Similar progress would boost neurosurgical education, especially in highly nuanced epilepsy surgeries. This study introduces a hands-on cerebral hemispheric surgery simulator and evaluates its usefulness in teaching epilepsy surgeries.

Associating Surgeon Feedback With Material Physical Properties in the Development Process of a Resective Epilepsy Surgery Simulator.

Background: Hands-on neurosurgical simulations, specifically techniques involving white matter disconnection, are underdeveloped owing to the paucity of low indentation materials that can adequately mimic brain dissection.

Objective: To describe the discovery phase of developing a resective epilepsy surgery simulator by quantifying the physical properties of 6 materials and correlating the scores with surgeon feedback data.

Methods: Six materials, silicone, TissueMatrix, gel support, Synaptive hydrogel, dry SUP706, and moist SUP706 of equal dimension, were evaluated for hardness by measuring their resistance to indentation.

Digital Twin Technology: The Future of Predicting Neurological Complications of Pediatric Cancers and Their Treatment.

Healthcare technologies have seen a surge in utilization during the COVID 19 pandemic. Remote patient care, virtual follow-up and other forms of futurism will likely see further adaptation both as a preparational strategy for future pandemics and due to the inevitable evolution of artificial intelligence. This manuscript theorizes the healthcare applications of digital twin technology.

A simulation study to investigate the use of concentric tube robots for epilepsy surgery.

Purpose: Patients with pharmacoresistant refractory epilepsy may require epilepsy surgery to prevent future seizure occurrences. Conventional surgery consists of a large craniotomy with straight rigid tools with associated outcomes of morbidity, large tissue resections, and long post-operative recovery times. Concentric tube robots have recently been developed as a promising application to neurosurgery due to their nonlinear form and small diameter.

Application of 3D Printing Support Material for Neurosurgical Simulation.

Brain dissection, an intricate neurosurgical skill, is central to life-saving procedures such as intrinsic brain tumor excision and resective epilepsy surgery. The aims of this manuscript are to outline the selection process of a suitable material for the development of a dissectible brain simulator and to present the use of support material, SUP 706, manufactured by Stratasys Ltd. as a non-waste alternative for sustainably engineering solutions for surgical education.

3D printing in neurosurgery education: a review.

Objectives: The objectives of this manuscript were to review the literature concerning 3D printing of brain and cranial vault pathology and use these data to define the gaps in global utilization of 3D printing technology for neurosurgical education.

Methods: Using specified criteria, literature searching was conducted to identify publications describing engineered neurosurgical simulators. Included in the study were manuscripts highlighting designs validated for neurosurgical skill transfer.

Pediatric Neurosurgery in East Africa: An Education and Needs-Based Survey.

Introduction: A pediatric neurosurgery training workshop was organized for residents and consultants in East Africa. We aimed to compile feedback from the course participants to 1) characterize the state of neurosurgical education; and 2) identify the perceived practical education needs.

Methods: The survey of demographic, clinical background and practice, and feedback questions was distributed to all attendees.

Hydranencephaly treatments: retrospective case series and review of the literature.

Objective: The objective of this study was to review treatment options for infants with hydranencephaly and to consider the pros and cons of each treatment modality.

Methods: This paper is a review of hydranencephaly as well as a retrospective analysis evaluating the outcomes of 52 infants with hydranencephaly who were treated at the Kijabe Hospital, Kijabe, Kenya, in one of four ways: ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) insertion, endoscopic choroid plexus coagulation (CPC), open choroid plexectomy (CPlx), and palliative care. The primary outcome measure was control of head size, with the aim of improving patient care.

Multiple hippocampal transections: Post-operative Memory Outcomes and Seizure Control.

Object: Temporal lobectomy with amygdalohippocampectomy is the standard surgical treatment for appropriate candidates with medically-intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. More recently, because of the risk of postoperative language/memory decline in a subset of patients with intact memory, a multiple hippocampal transection (MHT) approach has been proposed to preserve function.

Methods: Studies of MHT reporting both Engel and verbal memory outcome measures were included in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting of systematic reviews.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt perforations of the gastrointestinal tract.

OBJECT The purposes of this study were to evaluate the frequency with which children presented with ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt perforations of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, to determine the type of shunts that caused the perforations, and to compare the stiffness of perforating catheters with the stiffness of catheters from other manufacturers. METHODS Medical records were reviewed of 197 children who were admitted with VP shunt malfunction. Catheter stiffness was evaluated by measuring relative resistance to cross-sectional compression, resistance to column buckling, and elasticity in longitudinal bending.