Turkish Neurosurgery

AIM: To compare the efficacy of neuroendoscopic lavage (NEL) and shunt revision (SR) in the treatment of multiple shunt failures in children with hydrocephalus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of 56 pediatric patients who underwent surgeries for the treatment of shunt failure were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups as simple SR (Group A) and NEL+SR (Group B). Demographic characteristics, co-morbidities, surgical interventions, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analyzes, and complications were recorded and statistically compared for both groups...

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness and outcomes of unilateral dynamic stabilization surgical treatment in patients with recurrent lumbar disc herniation (RLDH). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients requiring an operation due to RLDH at the L4-5 level were included in the study.They divided into the following two groups: SD group who had only revision discectomy (n = 20) and DDgroup who had unilateral dynamic rod stabilization with discectomy (n = 20). Low back and leg pain were evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS), and functional results were evaluated with the Oswestry disability index (ODI)...

AIM: To describe, and to evaluate the clinical and radiological characteristics of pediatric cavernous malformations (CMs) and the surgical approaches and their outcomes in a single center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed pediatric patients with CMs that were treated in our center between 2010 and 2020. Radiological, clinical, and demographic features, as well as treatment details were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 23 patients, 12 were male, and 11 were female...

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AIM: To investigate the efficacy of locally applied batimastat after laminectomy in preventing postoperative epidural fibrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-two Wistar albino male rats weighing 200?250 g were used. The rats were assigned to four different groups (I-Control group, II-sham group, III-Laminectomy+Batimastat group, and IV-Laminectomy+SpongostanTM group). The rats were euthanized 28 days after surgery before TNF-?, IL6, IL-1?, IL10, TGF-?1, and MMP9 gene expression levels of tissue in the surgical area were determined with qPCR...

AIM: To evaluate the preoperative, operative, and postoperative outcomes of young and adult patients who underwent surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy related to hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study assessed prospectively registered data collected from 2010 to 2020. Clinical, electrophysiological, pathological, and postoperative outcomes were evaluated and compared. Post-surgical seizure outcome was classified into continuous seizure freeness without aura and relapse...

AIM: To present the ability of standard intraoperative neuronavigation to reliably identify the stylomastoid foramen, thus providing a quick and effective recognition of the facial nerve at its exit from the skull base. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We describe the technical nuances of this procedure by presenting two surgical cases who underwent hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis for complete facial nerve palsy occurring post removal of a giant vestibular schwannoma 6 months earlier...

AIM: To investigate the effect of vertebral artery stenosis (VAS) on the basilar artery tortuosity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 158 patients (101 males; 57 females) were divided into two main groups depending on existence of the in the vertebral artery (VA). Then, these groups were divided into two sub-groups according to the stenosis severity. All these groups were compared via the following variables: the gender, age, stroke risk factors, and basilar artery deflection angle...

AIM: To investigate the effects of a lumbar exercise program after single-level lumbar microdiscectomy on the recurrence of lumbar disc diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 2018 and 2021, 223 patients (104 women, 119 men, median age: 49 years) who received their first corrective surgery for lumbar disc herniation were included in this retrospective study. Their clinical status was evaluated before surgery, early post-surgery, and 6-months after surgery using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)...

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic, clinical and radiological findings associated with treatment success after interlaminar epidural steroid injection (ILESI) in radicular pain induced by cervical disc herniation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, the data of patients who received cervical ILESI between January 2017 and June 2021 were screened. Of 223 patients, 92 with unilateral radicular neck pain due to cervical disc herniation were included...

AIM: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of multi-level TLIF (Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion) procedures in degenerative spine conditions on the restoration of sagittal balance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this retrospective study we compared the radiological results of patients treated with three or fewer segment fusion assigned as the short-level group (n: 23) and patient with more than three segment fusion as assigned to the long-level group (n: 24) in who underwent lumbar fusion using a multilevel TLIF procedure diagnosed with degenerative spine...

Aim Cerebral palsy is frequently associated with neuromuscular scoliosis with larger curves requiring surgical intervention. The aim of this study was to assess the literature for the role and outcome of growing rod surgeries in these patients. Methods A systematic search was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Electronic literature search was conducted of PubMed and Embase databases. Patient demographics, type of growing rod used, lengthening and complications were analyzed from the included studies...

AIM: This study aimed to present our series of intracranial infections and to determine the possible locations and risk factors for surgical treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Over 13 years, 103 patients with intracranial infection underwent surgical evacuation. Seventy-one (68.9%) patients were men, and the mean age was 38.57 years. For intracranial infections, direct and indirect microbiological identification methods were used. The clinical and radiological data of patients were retrospectively analyzed and compared statistically based on the type of infection, location, history of previous surgery, comorbid diseases, and demographic features of the patients...

AIM: This study was conducted to describe in detail the gross anatomy of the superficial temporal artery (STA), its course and branches, its relationships with the branches of the facial nerve, and certain anatomical and surgical landmarks to preserve these structures in daily neurosurgical practice and use the STA during revascularization surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cadaveric study was conducted on 16 cadaver heads bilaterally, in which 32 silicon/latex-injected STAs were dissected using a microdissection technique in a neuroanatomy laboratory...

AIM: To present our series of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) meningiomas and to provide some innovative surgical steps for safe removal of these tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The clinical, radiological and surgical characteristics of 32 patients with meningioma in the CPA were retrospectively analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the factors that affect the incidence of complication. RESULTS: The mean age was 49.5 years and 87...

AIM: The purposes of current research are to explore the potential activity of HOXA-AS2, a lncRNA (long non-coding RNA), in epilepsy progression, as well as the mechanisms behind its activity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Kainic acid (KA) was used to treat CTX-TNA2 cells (rat astroglial cells) as a cellular model of epilepsy. The qRT-PCR (quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) was conducted to examine the expressions levels of HOXA-AS2, miR-372-3p, as well as STAT3...

AIM: Subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a well-accepted treatment in patients with advanced Parkinson\'s disease (PD). Radiology based preoperative planning is the most critical step in this surgical procedure. This surgical technique can be refined and improved with using intraoperative microelectrode recording (MER). We aimed to demonstrate consistency between preoperative radiologic STN volume and intraoperative neurophysiologic STN length. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-one patients with PD were enrolled...

AIM: To compare the posterior cranial fossa (PCF) dimensions together with the measurements related to basilar invagination and platybasia of craniovertebral junction anomalies (CVJA) in CVJA (+) and CVJA (-) Chiari malformation Type 1 (CM1) patient groups with each other and with healthy control subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group was formed of 43 CM1 and 9 tonsillar ectopia (TE) patients. RESULTS: A decrease was determined in the PCF vertical length (clivus and supraocciput line) and PCF volume and an increase in the transverse length (McRae and Twining line) in the CM1 cases compared to the healthy control group...

BACKGROUND: Micromirrors are 45°-angled reflectors able to bring the light beam to regions not accessible to direct vision, thus allowing for inspection of the back of the structure. Introduced in neurosurgery by Prof. Yaşargil in the \'70s, they were progressively abandoned after the advent of the endoscopes despite their cost-effectiveness and easiness to use. In the last few years, the interest for micromirrors awakened because of some theoretical advantages coming from their combination with the microscope...

AIM: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is the most frequent histopathology type in children with refractory epilepsy undergoing surgery. Nearly 40% of FCD patients still suffer from seizures after surgery, but currently there are no effective tools to predict postoperative outcomes in FCD children.We attempted to predict seizure outcomes after surgery to provide a tool for individualized clinical decision making and risk-adapted treatment after surgery in patients with FCD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 97 children with epilepsy secondary to focal cortical dysplasia who had undergone resection surgery in the Children\'s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from June 2013 to September 2019...