C1-C2 posterior screw fixation in atlantoaxial fractures revisited: technical update based on 127 cases.

Introduction: Posterior fusion of traumatic odontoid fractures by C1 lateral mass and C2 isthmic screws (modified Harms-Goel technique) is a viable alternative to transarticular screw fixation due to its universal applicability. This retrospective study reports on a series of 127 patients.

Material And Methods: Our clinical database was screened for patients with fractures of the upper cervical spine incorporating a C2 fracture, operated on between 2007 and 2015.

Can Early Postoperative O-(2-Fluoroethyl)-l-Tyrosine Positron Emission Tomography After Resection of Glioblastoma Predict the Location of Later Tumor Recurrence?

Objective: Glioblastoma inevitably recurs despite aggressive therapy. Therefore, it would be helpful to predict the location of tumor recurrence from postoperative imaging to customize further treatment. O-(2-fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine (FET) positron emission tomography (PET) might be a helpful technique, because tumor tissue can be differentiated from normal brain tissue with high specificity.

Correction to: Prognostic Value of Tumor Volume in Glioblastoma Patients: Size Also Matters for Patients with Incomplete Resection.

Due to a metadata tagging error the names of Stephanie E. Combs and Jan S. Kirschke were indexed incorrectly.

Publisher Correction: Factors influencing neurocognitive function in patients with neuroepithelial tumors.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Factors influencing neurocognitive function in patients with neuroepithelial tumors.

Though cognitive function is proven to be an independent predictor of survival in patients with intrinsic brain tumors, cognitive functions are still rarely considered. Aim of this study was to assess neurocognitive function and to identify risk factors for neurocognitive deficits. 103 patients with primary neuroepithelial tumors who received tumor resections or biopsies were included in this prospective study.

Prognostic Value of Tumor Volume in Glioblastoma Patients: Size Also Matters for Patients with Incomplete Resection.

Background: Incomplete resection of glioblastoma is discussed controversially in the era of combined radiochemotherapy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the benefit of subtotal tumor resection for glioblastoma patients as this was recently questioned in the era of radiochemotherapy.

Methods: Overall, 209 patients undergoing surgery for newly diagnosed WHO grade IV gliomas were retrospectively analyzed, and pre- and postoperative tumor volumes were manually segmented (cm).

Revision Rate of Misplaced Pedicle Screws of the Thoracolumbar Spine-Comparison of Three-Dimensional Fluoroscopy Navigation with Freehand Placement: A Systematic Analysis and Review of the Literature.

Background: Recent studies have shown higher accuracy rates of image-guided pedicle screw placement compared to freehand (FH) placement. However, data focusing on the impact of spinal navigation on the rate of revision surgeries caused by misplaced pedicle screws (PS) are scarce.

Objective: This study is aimed at identifying the rate of revision surgeries for misplaced PS comparing three-dimensional (3D) fluoroscopy navigation (3DFL) with FH PS placement.

Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion versus open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a technical description and review of the literature.

Background: Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) has been increasingly advocated during the last decade with new studies being reported every year. Minimally invasive spine procedures, such as minimally invasive transforaminal interbody fusion (MI-TLIF), have been introduced to reduce approach-related muscle trauma, to minimise blood loss, and to achieve faster wound healing, quicker ambulation and earlier patient discharge.

Methods: The aim of this article was to give a comprehensive review of the available English literature comparing open TLIF with MI-TLIF techniques published or available online between 1990 and 2014 as identified by an electronic database search on http://www.

(18)F-Fluoroethyl-l-Thyrosine Positron Emission Tomography to Delineate Tumor Residuals After Glioblastoma Resection: A Comparison with Standard Postoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Objective: Complete resection of contrast-enhancing tumor is an important prognostic factor in glioblastoma therapy. The current clinical standard for control of resection is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). (18)F-Fluoroethyl-l-thyrosine (FET) is a positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical applicable for widespread use because of its long half-life radionuclide.

Outcome after Surgical Treatment for Late Recurrent Lumbar Disc Herniations in Standard Open Microsurgery.

Purpose: There is a lack of studies highlighting the outcome by different scores or parameters after surgery for recurrent disc herniations of the lumbar spine at the initial herniation site. This study assessed the quality of life after surgical treatment of recurrent herniations with different standardized validated outcome instruments.

Methods: During a 24-month period, 64 patients underwent (microscope assisted) surgery for recurrent disc herniations of the lumbar spine.

Early Morbidity and Mortality in 50 Very Elderly Patients After Posterior Atlantoaxial Fusion for Traumatic Odontoid Fractures.

Background: Traumatic odontoid fractures (tOFs) in the very elderly are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The best treatment strategy (conservative vs. surgery) is still unclear.

Early [18F]FET-PET in Gliomas after Surgical Resection: Comparison with MRI and Histopathology.

Background: The precise definition of the post-operative resection status in high-grade gliomas (HGG) is crucial for further management. We aimed to assess the feasibility of assessment of the resection status with early post-operative positron emission tomography (PET) using [18F]O-(2-[18F]-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine ([18F]FET).

Methods: 25 patients with the suspicion of primary HGG were enrolled.

Volumetric Analysis of F-18-FET-PET Imaging for Brain Metastases.

Background: The knowledge of exact tumor margins is of importance for the treating neurosurgeon, radiotherapist, and oncologist alike. The aim of this study was to investigate whether tumor volume and tumor margins acquired by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are congruent with the findings acquired by O-(2-(18F)-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine-positron emission tomography (FET-PET).

Methods: Patients received FET-PET and MRI before surgery for brain metastases.

Intraoperative subcortical motor evoked potential stimulation: how close is the corticospinal tract?

Object: Subcortical stimulation is a method used to evaluate the distance from the stimulation site to the corticospinal tract (CST) and to decide whether the resection of an adjacent lesion should be terminated to prevent damage to the CST. However, the correlation between stimulation intensity and distance to the CST has not yet been clearly assessed. The objective of this study was to investigate the appropriate correlation between the subcortical stimulation pattern and the distance to the CST.

18F-fluoro-ethyl-tyrosine positron emission tomography for grading and estimation of prognosis in patients with intracranial gliomas.

Introduction: Histopathological examination is the standard for grading and determination of diagnosis in intrinsic brain tumors though the possibility of malignization and tumor heterogeneity always bears the possibility of tumor under-grading or misjudgement regarding the estimation of prognosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of (18)F-FET-PET (FET-PET) for the grading and estimation of prognosis in newly diagnosed patients with intracranial gliomas in a clinical setting.

Methods: Patients who were treated for a newly diagnosed intracranial glioma between January 2007 and May 2012, and had a preoperative FET-PET and MRI scan between were included.

Postoperative ischemic changes after glioma resection identified by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and their association with intraoperative motor evoked potentials.

Object: The aim of surgical glioma treatment is the complete resection of tumor tissue while preserving neurological function. Surgery-related neurological deficits arise from direct damage to the cortical or subcortical structures or from ischemia. The authors aimed to assess the incidence of resection-related ischemia of newly diagnosed or recurrent supratentorial gliomas and the sensitivity of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IOM) of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) for detecting such ischemic events and their influence on neurological motor function.

Surgery of highly eloquent gliomas primarily assessed as non-resectable: risks and benefits in a cohort study.

Background: Today, the treatment of choice for high- and low-grade gliomas requires primarily surgical resection to achieve the best survival and quality of life. Nevertheless, many gliomas within highly eloquent cortical regions, e.g.

Postoperative ischemic changes following resection of newly diagnosed and recurrent gliomas and their clinical relevance.

Object: The aim of surgical treatment of glioma is the complete resection of tumor tissue with preservation of neurological function. Inclusion of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the postoperative MRI protocol could improve the delineation of ischemia-associated postoperative neurological deficits. The present study aims to assess the incidence of infarctions following resection of newly diagnosed gliomas in comparison with recurrent gliomas and the influence on neurological function.

Presurgical navigated transcranial magnetic brain stimulation for recurrent gliomas in motor eloquent areas.

Objective: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has been repeatedly shown to be comparably accurate to direct cortical stimulation (DCS) for rolandic region mapping. However, there are no data on its use for recurrent gliomas in which scarring and radiotherapy can impair nTMS. We therefore evaluated the accuracy of nTMS versus DCS and functional MRI (fMRI) in recurrent gliomas compared to initially operated tumors.

Frameless image-guided stereotaxy with real-time visual feedback for brain biopsy.

Background: Frame-based stereotaxy remains the "gold standard" for cerebral biopsies and functional neurosurgery though new frameless stereotactic systems are evolving continually. As the technique of frameless stereotaxy gains increasing acceptance among neurosurgeons, this study assesses the feasibility of a system for frameless image-guided stereotaxy.

Methods: All patients biopsied for intracranial lesions between February 2007 and August 2010 using the BrainLAB VarioGuide frameless stereotactic system were evaluated prospectively.

Utility of presurgical navigated transcranial magnetic brain stimulation for the resection of tumors in eloquent motor areas.

Object: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is a newly evolving technique. Despite its supposed purpose (for example, preoperative central region mapping), little is known about its accuracy compared with established modalities like direct cortical stimulation (DCS) and functional MR (fMR) imaging. Against this background, the authors performed the current study to compare the accuracy of nTMS with DCS and fMR imaging.

Diffusion tensor imaging fiber tracking using navigated brain stimulation--a feasibility study.

Background: Navigated brain stimulation (NBS) is a newly evolving technique. In addition to its supposed purpose, e.g.

Predictive value and safety of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring with motor evoked potentials in glioma surgery.

Background: Resection of gliomas in or adjacent to the motor system is widely performed with intraoperative neuromonitoring (IOM). Despite the fact that data on the safety of IOM are available, the significance and predictive value of the procedure are still under discussion. Moreover, cases of false-negative monitoring affect the surgeon's confidence in IOM.

Utility of diffusion tensor-imaged (DTI) motor fiber tracking for the resection of intracranial tumors near the corticospinal tract.

Purpose: Treatment of intracranial tumors near the corticospinal tract remains a surgical challenge. Several technical tools to map and monitor the motor tract have been implemented. The present study aimed to assess the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fiber tracking in the surgical treatment of motor eloquent tumors at our institution.