Different C2 screw placement techniques with mobilization of the vertebral artery in high-riding vertebral artery cases: Cadaver dissection.

Objective: In neurosurgery, posterior approaches intended at the craniovertebral junction are frequently used. The most popular procedures for treating upper cervical instability are C1 lateral mass, C2 pedicle, and C1-C2 transarticular screw stabilization. Due to their proximity to neural structures and the presence of the high-riding vertebral artery (VA), these techniques are complicated.

The loneliness of a long-distance runner. A ten-year survey of a patient diagnosed with Gorham-Stout syndrome at the occipitocervical junction.

This case study presents a 47-year-old male who was diagnosed with Gorham-Stout syndrome (GSS) 10 years ago in the occipitocervical junction. The pathology caused the resorption of the suboccipital bone, clivus, foramen magnum, and C1-C3 laminae. After his first fusion attempt in 2010 using occipital plate-cervical lateral mass screws, he needed many revision surgeries either for the progression of the pathology or for instrumentation failure and wound healing problems.

Is C1-C2 Reduction and Fixation A Good Choice in the Treatment of Recurrent Chiari-Like Symptoms With Syringomyelia?

Background: Foramen magnum decompression (FMD) is the first-choice treatment for Chiari malformation (CM). However, it has been suggested that cerebellar herniation and syringomyelia occur as a natural protective event to prevent neural damage caused by atlantoaxial instability. It is argued that treating instability is the main treatment.

Airplane Landing Accident: How Safe Is Use of Passenger Lap Seat Belts in Aircrafts?

Background: Seat belts are considered the reason for seat belt syndrome, which mainly occurs during rapid deceleration in motor vehicle accidents. Seat belt syndrome is characterized by contusion of the front torso, intrathoracic or intraabdominal organ injuries, and spinal thoracic or lumbar chance fractures.

Case Description: This case study presents a 21-year-old female who was injured by a lap-type seat belt and diagnosed with seat belt syndrome after an airplane landing accident.

Diffusion tensor imaging of cervical spinal cord: A quantitative diagnostic tool in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique potentially able to evaluate the microscopic structural organization of white matter fibers.

Aim: This study aimed to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values obtained by DTI in stenotic versus nonstenotic cervical spinal segments of patients with clinical and neurological evidence of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).

Materials And Methods: This prospective study included 21 patients with CSM but without T2 changes on conventional MRI.

The denticulate ligament: anatomical properties, functional and clinical significance.

Background: It is widely believed that the main function of denticulate ligaments (DLs) is to stabilize the spinal cord within the vertebral canal. The aim of this study was to assess the anatomical and histological structure of the DLs and to document any regional differences.

Methods: Five formalin-fixed adult cadavers were used.

Temporal expression of angiogenesis-related genes in developing neonatal rodent retina: a novel in vivo model to study cerebral vascular development.

Background: Experimental models to study cerebrovascular malformations are limited therefore we used the neonatal rodent retina as a model to study cerebral angiogenesis.

Objective: We performed a gene expression analysis to define temporal changes in the expression of 96 angiogenesis-related genes during retinal vascularization.

Methods: A total of 72 retinas from 36 newborn C57BL/6 mice were used.

Axillary mononeuropathy after herpes zoster infection mimicking subacromial impingement syndrome.

Subacromial impingement syndrome is a frequent cause of shoulder pain and it is readily confused with other shoulder problems. We present a patient with herpes zoster infection associated with axillary mononeuropathy that was initially misdiagnosed as subacromial impingement syndrome. A 75-yr-old female patient was admitted to the internal medicine clinic because of pain and weakness in her right shoulder.

Tumor-biology and current treatment of skull-base chordomas.

Chordomas are rare, slow growing tumors of the axial skeleton, which derive from the remnants of the fetal notochord. They can be encountered anywhere along the axial skeleton, most commonly in the sacral area, skull base and less commonly in the spine. Chordomas have a benign histopathology but exhibit malignant clinical behavior with invasive, destructive and metastatic potential.

Inhibition of angiogenesis induced by cerebral arteriovenous malformations using gamma knife irradiation.

Object: The authors studied the effect of Gamma Knife irradiation on angiogenesis induced by cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) tissues implanted in the corneas of rats.

Methods: Ten AVM specimens obtained from tissue resections performed at Marmara University between 1998 and 2004 were used. A uniform amount of tissue was implanted into the micropocket between the two epithelial layers of the cornea.

How to write an experimental research paper.

The art and practice of academic neurosurgery are mastered by defining and learning the pertinent basic principles and skills. This article aims to present general guidelines to one of the many roles of a neurosurgeon: Writing an experimental research paper. Every research report must use the "IMRAD formula: introduction, methods, results and discussion".

Effect of surgery on tumor progression and malignant degeneration in hemispheric diffuse low-grade astrocytomas.

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of surgery on tumor progression and malignant degeneration in hemispheric diffuse astrocytoma WHO grade II. Twenty-eight patients who were operated or underwent stereotactic biopsy for hemispheric diffuse astrocytoma WHO grade II at Marmara University between January 1987 and January 1996, were prospectively reviewed for the presence of recurrence and histopathological dedifferentiation at their fourth years after the initial treatment. Twenty-two patients underwent surgical resection.

Determining optimal MRI follow-up after transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma: scan at 24 hours postsurgery provides reliable information.

There is no agreed-upon schedule for MRI follow-up after pituitary adenoma removal via the transsphenoidal approach. Our aim was to establish a plan for MRI follow-up after pituitary surgery. Eighty pituitary adenoma cases (25 microadenomas, 30 macroadenomas that did not infiltrate the cavernous sinus, and 25 macroadenomas with cavernous sinus infiltration) were prospectively studied with MRI following tumor resection via the transsphenoidal approach.

Solid-calcified colloid cyst of the third ventricle.

We report a 65-year-old female with a solid-calcified colloid cyst in the third ventricle that was demonstrated on computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance images. The lesion was surgically excised using the anterior transcallosal-transforaminal approach. Complete preservation of the surrounding neural and vascular structures was achieved.

Spinal solitary fibrous tumor: seventh reported case and review of the literature.

We present the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of a solitary fibrous tumor in the spinal cord. This case is the seventh spinal solitary fibrous tumor in the literature. The tumor caused clinical symptoms in a 70-year-old female, which indicated compression of the spinal cord.

Fat prefabrication using a fascial flap in the rat model.

Prefabrication of fat tissue using a fascial flap based on the superficial inferior epigastric artery was studied in rats. First, the superficial inferior epigastric fascia was transposed over the inguinal fat pad. Two weeks later fascia and fat were elevated together as a prefabricated composite flap.