Publications by authors named "Patrick Melville"

Background: Intramedullary tumors constitute approximately 20-30% of all spinal cord tumors and approximately 30-40% of these are astrocytomas. Furthermore, they comprise only about 2-4% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Due to their rarity and poor prognosis, large population-based studies are needed to assess the epidemiology and survival risk factors associated with these tumors in the hope of improving outcomes.

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Objective: With the costs related to the United States medical system constantly rising, efforts are being made to turn traditional inpatient procedures into outpatient same-day surgeries. In this study the authors looked at the various comorbidities and perioperative complications and their impact on readmission rates of patients undergoing outpatient versus inpatient 3- and 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 337 3- and 4- level ACDF procedures in 332 patients (5 patients had both primary and revision surgeries that were included in this total of 337 procedures) between May 2012 and June 2017.

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