Surgical Management of Multiple-Level Lumbar Spinal Schwannomas: A Case Report.

The increase in benign spinal tumors among adults over the last decade has been a major cause of concern. This worrisome trend has been attributed to many factors, including improved detection techniques, enhanced access to medical care, and the aging population. The research primarily focuses on Schwannoma, which is a rare type of tumor that arises from Schwann cells, which are responsible for producing the myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nerves.

GammaTile: Comprehensive Review of a Novel Radioactive Intraoperative Seed-Loading Device for the Treatment of Brain Tumors.

GammaTile is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed device consisting of four cesium-131 (Cs-131) radiation-emitting seeds in the collagen tile about the postage stamp size. The tiles are utilized to line the brain cavity immediately after tumor resection. GammaTile therapy is a surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) that helps provide instant, dose-intense treatment after the completion of resection.

A Single-Center Experience of Dopamine Antagonist ONC201 for Recurrent Histone H3 Lysine 27-to-Methionine (H3K27M)-Mutant Glioblastoma in Adults.

This study aimed to report a single-center experience of three adult subjects receiving ONC201 as part of the ONC018-expanded access clinical trial (NCT03134131). ONC201 is an oral investigational antagonist against the D2 dopamine receptor that has shown encouraging results for malignant gliomas harboring the histone H3 lysine 27-to-methionine (H3K27M) mutation in the H3 histone complex. Responses have been reported in pediatric subjects with such tumors.

The Need for Improved Recruitment to Neurosurgery Training: A Systematic Review of Enrollment Strategies.

Neurosurgery is one of the cornerstones corresponding to a large scope of clinical pathologies and is a highly-regarded surgical specialty. However, there has been a decline in recruits into the neurosurgical residency due to many factors derailing the interest of medical students with an ambition to become neurosurgeons. Some of these issues encompass little or lack of early exposure to neurosurgery, lack of quality mentorship programs, and institutional curriculum entailing prolonged periods of training and study in neurosurgery.

Reconstruction options for complex middle cerebral artery aneurysms.

Objective: To describe techniques of reconstruction for unclippable and uncoilable middle cerebral artery aneurysms.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of seven patients who underwent eight operations during a 9-year period to treat complex middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysms not amenable to direct clipping or endovascular coiling. All preoperative and postoperative clinical and imaging data were reviewed.

Bypass grafting and revascularization in the management of posterior circulation aneurysms.

Objective: To describe the bypass techniques, cranial base approaches, results of treatment, causes of failure, and lessons that are learned in patients with posterior circulation aneurysms requiring revascularization.

Methods: Retrospectively, 19 patients with posterior fossa aneurysms requiring revascularization procedures operated on between 1991 and 2002 were reviewed. Preoperative and postoperative clinical information, neurological examinations, imaging data, and updated follow-ups were reviewed.

Endoscope-assisted microsurgery for microvascular compression syndromes.

Objective: To discuss the results of endoscope-assisted surgery in microvascular decompression (MVD) of Cranial Nerves (CNs) V, VII, and VIII.

Methods: Neuroendoscopy was used as an adjunct to the surgical microscope in the MVD of the trigeminal (17 patients), facial (10 patients), and vestibulocochlear (1 patient) nerves in a series of 28 consecutive patients. After a standard microsurgical approach to CNs V, VII, and VIII, the endoscope was used to inspect all aspects of neural anatomy, to assess vascular compression, and to check the results of the decompression.

Real-time detection of vascular occlusion and reperfusion of the brain during surgery by using infrared imaging.

Object: Application of sensitive infrared imaging is ideally suited to observe blood vessels and blood flow in exposed organs, including the brain. Temporary vascular occlusion is an important part of neurosurgery, but the capacity to monitor the effects of these occlusions in real time is limited. In surgical procedures that require vascular manipulation, such as those involving aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), or tumors, the ability to visualize blood flow in vessels and their distribution beds would be beneficial.