Comparison of diagnostic yields, operative times, and post-operative hemorrhage between twist drill versus burr hole craniotomy approaches for stereotactic needle brain biopsy.

Stereotactic frameless needle brain biopsy is a common neurosurgical procedure performed via twist drill or open burr hole approaches. We aim to compare diagnostic yields and surgical outcomes to delineate the safety and efficacy of both approaches. A retrospective database of all stereotactic needle biopsy procedures performed at a single institution over 30 months was conglomerated.

Pediatric midline H3K27M-mutant tumor with disseminated leptomeningeal disease and glioneuronal features: case report and literature review.

Background: H3K27M-mutant midline lesions were recently reclassified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "diffuse midline glioma" (DMG) based entirely on their molecular signature. DMG is one of the most common and most lethal pediatric brain tumors; terminal progression is typically caused by local midbrain or brainstem progression, or secondary leptomeningeal dissemination. H3K27M mutations have also been infrequently associated with a histologically and prognostically diverse set of lesions, particularly spinal masses with early leptomeningeal spread.

Orbital Rosai-Dorfman disease initially diagnosed as IgG4-related disease: a case report.

Inflammatory orbital lesions include a broad list of diagnoses, many of them with overlapping clinical and radiographic features. They often present a diagnostic conundrum, even to the most experienced orbital specialist, thus placing considerable weight on surgical biopsy and histopathological analysis. However, histopathological diagnosis is also inherently challenging due to the rarity of these lesions and the overlaps in histologic appearance among distinct disease entities.

The Ethics of Psychosocial Assessment in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation: A Call for Transparency of Process to Support the Equitable Selection of Patients.

As the field of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) continues to evolve and technological approaches improve, VCA programs must focus on promoting greater consistency in psychosocial assessment across programs to support the equitable selection of patients. Based on a summary of published reports of VCA, we address the ethical considerations raised by the present heterogeneity of approaches to psychosocial assessment, including weighing risks and benefits, informed consent and the role of decisional capacity, and potential or perceived bias in the assessment process. We propose transparency of process across the field and encourage VCA programs to work collaboratively to share approaches to psychosocial assessment both pre- and post-transplant to promote health equity.

Volumetric growth rates of untreated vestibular schwannomas.

Objective: There remains a large discrepancy among surgeons in expectations of vestibular schwannoma (VS) growth. The anticipated growth rate of a VS and its potential clinical impact are important factors when deciding whether to observe the lesion over time or to intervene. Previous studies of VS natural growth remain limited, mostly confined to linear measurements, often without high-resolution, thin-sequence imaging.

Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound as a Consideration in the Patient Selection Process for Facial Transplantation.

Facial transplantation is emerging as a therapeutic option for self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The self-inflicted nature of this injury raises questions about the appropriate role of self-harm in determining patient eligibility. Potential candidates for facial transplantation undergo extensive psychosocial screening.

Quality of life, hypothalamic obesity, and sexual function in adulthood two decades after primary gross-total resection for childhood craniopharyngioma.

Purpose: All treatments for childhood craniopharyngioma are associated with complications that potentially affect quality of life. This study was designed to investigate the impact of gross total resection on long-term quality of life and sexual functioning in adulthood.

Methods: Adults treated with primary gross total resection for childhood craniopharyngioma and ≥ 10 years of follow-up were included in this retrospective cohort study.

Regression after subtotal resection of an optic pathway glioma in an adult without adjuvant therapy: case report.

Optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) are relatively common and benign lesions in children; however, in adults these lesions are nearly always malignant and hold a very poor prognosis. In this report the authors present the case of an adult patient with a benign OPG who underwent subtotal resection without adjuvant therapy and has had no tumor progression for more than 20 years. A 50-year-old woman presented with a 2-year history of personality changes, weight gain, and a few months of visual disturbances.

Time to Resolution of Symptoms After Suboccipital Decompression with Duraplasty in Children with Chiari Malformation Type I.

Background: Duraplasty is a technique successfully used to treat Chiari malformation type I (CM-I). This study describes the timely manner of clinical outcomes and the postoperative course after craniectomy and duraplasty for the treatment of symptomatic CM-I in children.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed in 105 consecutive children who underwent surgical decompression of symptomatic CM-I with dural opening by a single surgeon between 1999 and 2015.

Perceived Esthetic Outcomes of Face Transplantation: A Survey of the General Public.

Facial transplantation (FT) has attracted the interest of individuals with facial disfigurement as a path to social reintegration. The perception among face transplant recipients and the reconstructive surgery community appears to be that superior functional and esthetic outcomes can be obtained with FT compared to autologous reconstruction (AR). Although lifelong immunosuppression adds well-known risks to FT, its benefits have proven difficult to quantify, especially because of its non-life-saving nature.

Characterization of a new chlorovirus type with permissive and non-permissive features on phylogenetically related algal strains.

A previous report indicated that prototype chlorovirus PBCV-1 replicated in two Chlorella variabilis algal strains, NC64A and Syngen 2-3, that are ex-endosymbionts isolated from the protozoan Paramecium bursaria. Surprisingly, plaque-forming viruses on Syngen 2-3 lawns were often higher than on NC64A lawns from indigenous water samples. These differences led to the discovery of viruses that exclusively replicate in Syngen 2-3 cells, named Only Syngen (OSy) viruses.