Intraneural Nodular Fasciitis of the Dorsal Scapular Nerve: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background:  Nodular fasciitis is a benign neoplasm occurring predominantly in the subcutaneous tissue. There have been nine intraneural occurrences described in the literature.

Case Report:  A 37-year-old woman presented with numbness and tenderness in her left shoulder and scapula and a slightly dropped left shoulder, without history of trauma.

Biomechanical stability analysis of transpedicular screws combined with sublaminar hook-rod system using the finite element method.

Aim: To develop and test a new posterior stabilization system by augmenting the posterior hook-rod system with screws and rods.

Methods: A biomechanical analysis was performed using the finite element method. The anatomical structures were modeled based on computed tomography data.

Intramedullary Spinal Cord Lipoma Mimicking a Late Subacute Hematoma.

Spinal cord lipomas are rare and benign tumors which may cause progressive neurological deficits due to their local expansion. We present the case of a 59-year-old male patient with severe lumbosacral pain and slowly progressive paresis of the right leg, misdiagnosed with degenerative spine disease. Repeated magnetic resonance (MR) T1-weighted images of the thoracic spine suggested a subacute intramedullary hematoma.

Validation of the Croatian version of the Oswestry Disability Index.

Purpose: To translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Croatian version of the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).

Methods: The original English-language ODI was cross-culturally adapted into Croatian and then evaluated in a group of 114 patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) at the Department of Neurosurgery, Zagreb University School of Medicine. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with three models: two were theory driven (unidimensional and two dimensional-static and dynamic factors); the other was based on our exploratory factor analysis (EFA).

Predictors of Functional Outcome after Spinal Ependymoma Resection.

Aim: Spinal ependymomas are among the most common intramedullary neoplasms in both adults and children. While surgical resection is the golden treatment standard, the role chemotherapy and radiotherapy have in patients with spinal ependymomas remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the predictors of functional outcome following spinal ependymoma resection to single out patients that may require adjuvant therapy.

Scarcity of Implants Has Partially Replaced Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Decompression and Instrumented Fusion with Implant-Less Expansile Cervical Laminoplasty: Poverty Teaches all the Arts.

Objective: The scarcity of implants during the economic crisis partially has replaced decompression and instrumented fusion for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy with implant-less expansile cervical laminoplasty (ECL). The aim of the study was to compare the results obtained with instrumented anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion with implant-less ECL.

Methods: Patients suffering from cervical spondylotic myelopathy Nurick 3-5 with preoperative tethering and postoperative untethering were included.

Rare Infratentorial and Supratentorial Localization of Juvenile Angiofibroma: A Case Report.

Angiofibromas are rare tumors of the head and neck that mostly occur in the sphenopalatine region. We present a case of angiofibroma in a young male patient with an unusual and extremely rare localization, which to our knowledge has not been described before. It was situated in the tentorium and spread to the supratentorial and infratentorial regions.