Full-endoscopic interlaminar operations in lumbar compressive lesions surgery: prospective study of 350 patients - "ENDOS" Study.

Background: Full-endoscopic operations of lumbar spine are truly minimally invasive surgical procedures. Endoscopic techniques have become the standard in many areas because of the advantages they offer intraoperatively and after surgery. With the interlaminar and transforaminal approach, two full-endoscopic procedures are available for lumbar compressive lesion operations.

Convexity meningioma associated with depression: a case report.

Introduction: Meningiomas are slow growing, extra-axial lesions, and can be neurologically silent for a long time and present only with depression.

Case Outline: A 65-year-old woman developed major depression and was treated with antidepressants for two years. Depression failed to respond to drug treatment and there was no improvement.

[Epidemiological features of brain tumors].

Brain tumors account for 1.4% of all cancers and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths.

[Lateral extracavitary approach to spine].

Introduction: This paper describes the lateral extracavitary approach to the lumbar spine using the three-quarter prone position. Owing to unsatisfied results of the posterior approaches to spine in patients with the ventral compressive lesions, many ventral approaches as well as lateral extracavitary approach have been developed.

Case Outline: A patient with tumor (chordoma) of L3 vertebral body was operated on by means of ventral compression of cauda equina; the tumor had paraspinal propagation.

A novel method for making dorsal horn lesions.

Objective: Dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) lesioning for intractable pain currently requires a multi-level laminectomy for direct access to all spinal cord segments intended to be lesioned. The hypothesis is that a silastic rubber catheter can be inserted into the dorsal horn (through a single laminectomy site) and advanced down several spinal cord segments, while staying exclusively in the dorsal horn.

Methods: A cervical laminectomy was performed in four sheep.

[Stenting for symptomatic high-grade basilar artery stenosis].

Background: Stenosis of brain vessels in 5-10% of cases causes ischemic disesase of the brain. Atherosclerosis is a cause of stenosis in 95% of cases. Patients with basilar artery stenosis and recurrent ischemic attacks are candidate for stroke in 50% of cases in the first two years.

[Endovascular treatment of carotid-cavernous fistula type A with platinium coils].

Background: Carotid-cavernous fistulas are abnormal communications between carotid arteries or their branches and the cavernous system caused mostly by trauma. Posttraumatic fistulas represent 70% of all carotid-cavernous fistulas and they are mostly high-flow shunts (type A). This type gives characteristic eye symptoms.

[Neurolytic blockade of the obturator nerve in the treatment of idiopatic obturator neuralgia].

Introduction: Idiopathic obturator neuralgia is a rare chronic pain condition. It consists of pain radiating from the obturator nerve territory to the inner thigh. However, the symptomatic obturator neuralgia is commonly caused by the obturator canal bowel hernia that causes painful commpressive neuropathy in more than 85% of the cases.