Frailty indices predict mortality, complications and functional improvements in supratentorial meningioma patients over 80 years of age.

Purpose: To assess whether the Modified 5 (mFI-5) and 11 (mFI-11) Factor Frailty Indices associate with postoperative mortality, complications, and functional benefit in supratentorial meningioma patients aged over 80 years.

Methods: Baseline characteristics were collected from eight centers. Based on the patients' preoperative status and comorbidities, frailty was assessed by the mFI-5 and mFI-11.

Surgical Outcome of Patients With Supratentorial Meningiomas Aged 80 Years or Older-Retrospective International Multicenter Study.

Background And Objectives: Demographic changes will lead to an increase in old patients, a population with significant risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality, requiring neurosurgery for meningiomas. This multicenter study aims to report neurofunctional status after resection of patients with supratentorial meningioma aged 80 years or older, to identify factors associated with outcome, and to validate a previously proposed decision support tool.

Methods: Neurofunctional status was assessed by the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS).

Intraoperative ultrasonography in laminectomy for degenerative cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a clinical and radiological evaluation.

Background: The incidence of cervical myelopathy due to spinal stenosis is constantly growing in an aging population. Especially in multisegmental disease, dorsal laminectomy is the intervention of choice. Intraoperative imaging with ultrasound might provide additional information about extent and sufficiency of spinal cord decompression.

Vertebral Body Replacement With an Anchored Expandable Titanium Cage in the Cervical Spine: A Clinical and Radiological Evaluation.

Background: Expandable cervical cages have been used successfully to reconstruct the anterior spinal column.

Objective: To perform clinical and radiological evaluation of vertebral body replacement with an anchored expandable titanium cage in the cervical spine after single-level and 2-level corpectomies.

Methods: Between 2011 and 2017, 40 patients underwent a single-level (N = 32) or 2-level (N = 8) anterior corpectomy and fusion using an anchored expandable vertebral body replacement cage.

A high-definition 3D exoscope as an alternative to the operating microscope in spinal microsurgery.

Objective: Since the 1970s, the operating microscope (OM) has been a standard for visualization and illumination of the surgical field in spinal microsurgery. However, due to its limitations (e.g.

Cystic Craniopharyngiomas: Microsurgical or Stereotactic Treatment?

Background: Prognosis and treatment of cystic craniopharyngiomas are poorly defined.

Objective: To analyze progression-free survival (PFS) and safety profile of cystic craniopharyngiomas undergoing resection or minimally invasive drainage procedures. We compared further outcome measurements for cystic and solid tumors undergoing resection to elucidate the impact of the initial tumor composition on both PFS and the toxicity profile.

Stereotactic intracavitary brachytherapy with P-32 for cystic craniopharyngiomas in children.

Purpose: Although microsurgery remains the first-line treatment, gross total resection of cystic craniopharyngeomas (CP) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and the addition of external irradiation to subtotal resection proves to achieve similar tumor control. However, concern regarding long-term morbidity associated with external irradiation in children still remains. With this retrospective analysis, the authors emphasize intracavitary brachytherapy using phosphorus-32 (P-32) as a treatment option for children with cystic CP.

Intracavitary brachytherapy using stereotactically applied phosphorus-32 colloid for treatment of cystic craniopharyngiomas in 53 patients.

This paper summarizes outcomes of a single-center study of intracavitary brachytherapy (IBT) with stereotactically applied phosphorus-32 ((32)P) colloid for treatment of cystic craniopharyngiomas. We assessed its efficacy and safety, on the basis of clinical and radiological outcomes in one of the largest reported patient series. Between 1992 and 2011, 53 patients were treated with IBT, 14 without previous treatment and 39 who had previously been treated for recurrent cysts.