Turkish Neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION: Autonomic symptoms have been long recognized to occur with pain in the head, e.g., trigeminal neuralgia and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. Symptoms occur during pain attacks, so they are assumed to be activated by nociceptive afferents of the trigeminal nerve. Herein, we present a patient with hypersalivation that occurred following percutaneous balloon compression for trigeminal neuralgia, although being pain-free after the treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 71-year-old woman who experienced excessive salivation on the affected side after percutaneous balloon compression...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, unruptured intracranial aneurysms have been found more frequently, and endovascular coiling has become an increasingly popular treatment. METHODS: Computer databases were searched between 1990 and 2018; the databases included Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and three Chinese domestic databases. We included controlled clinical studies. Two researchers extracted data and assessed the included studies. A meta-analysis was performed...

AIM: The objective of this study is to determine whether there is a correlation between a deeply situated L5 vertebra in relation to the intercrest line and the level of degeneration of the lumbar discs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study comprised 152 patients who underwent surgery for lumbar disc herniation. After analyzing the radiographs, the patients were separated into two groups. The first group had an intercrest line passing via the L4 corpus, while the second group had an intercrest line passing through the L4-5 disc distance or L5 vertebra...

Parsonage-Turner Syndrome, or neuralgic amyotrophy, is an acute-onset upper limb and shoulder girdle palsy that can occur in a post-viral, post-surgical or idiopathic setting. There have also been some reported cases of the syndrome occurring following vaccinations. The pathophysiology of neuralgic amyotrophy is not completely understood and many of the commonly used diagnostic imaging modalities we use to try and diagnose this syndrome are inaccurate and misleading. We present the case of a 40-year-old gentleman who presented with acute onset burning pain and fasciculations in his right upper extremity following vaccination with the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine...

This study aimed to describe a novel endovascular strategy to help control blood flow used successfully to treat an infant with highflow pial arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Here, a single-hole high-flow nongalenic pial AVF was diagnosed in a 2.5 year-old infant is presented. After coil packing failure despite temporal balloon occlusion, we deployed a SolitaireTM stent in the fistula. By twisting with detachable coils, we achieved satisfactory blood flow control, and obliteration of the fistula was achieved with Onyx injection...

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic and neuroprotective effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) application on the traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced glutamate and calcium excitotoxicity and loss of motor and cognitive functions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty rats were equally divided in the sham, TBI, tDCS + TBI + tDCS, and TBI + tDCS groups. Mild TBI was induced by dropping a 450-g iron weight from a height of 1 m onto the skull of the rats. The tDCS + TBI + tDCS group was prophylactically administered 1 mA stimulation for 30 min for 7 days starting 5 days before inducing TBI...

AIM: To share the surgical outcomes of 31 patients who underwent endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS) at a single center. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis of 31 craniopharyngioma cases (2013-2022) with a minimum 6-month follow-up included demographic data, preoperative findings, postoperative resection volumes, recurrence rates, pathological diagnoses, and complications. RESULTS: Herein, 34 EETS surgeries were performed on 31 patients (12 males, 19 females)...

AIM: To identify the patterns and types of neuorosurgical injuries sustained by victims of the double earthquakes affected ten cities with a population of 15 million in southern and central Türkiye. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this descriptive observational study, we retrospectively analyzed the medical records of a university hospital located in one of the ten cities affected by the earthquake. RESULTS: A total of 1,612 patients with earthquake-related injuries were admitted during the study period, of which 139 (8...

AIM: To examine the effect of cerebellar damage on the process of fracture healing. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of forty-two male rats were selected at random and subsequently allocated into three distinct groups. The experimentals were divided into two subgroups within each group, with the intention of sacrificing them during the third and sixth weeks. Group 1 had isolated femoral fracture, Group 2 had femoral fracture after craniotomy, and Group 3 had femoral fracture accompanying cerebellar injury after craniotomy...

AIM: To retrospectively analyze and compare ultrasound-assisted localization in situ with the traditional, open incision method for treating cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients treated between 2018 and 2022 and categorized them according to treatment method: ultrasound-assisted precise localization in situ decompression (n=21; Cohort 1) and traditional open incision in situ decompression (n=30; Cohort 2)...

AIM: To explore the post-translational regulation of TRPV1, which plays an important role in neuropathic low back pain (NLBP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: qPCR was used to examine the gene mRNA levels. Western blot was used to examine the protein level. NLBP rat model was established for confirming what we observed in clinical samples. Dual-luciferase assay was used to verify the miR-199 targets on the 3'UTR of TRPV1. Cell coculture was used to explore the interaction between macrophages and nerve cells...

AIM: To evaluate and compare postoperative ischemic complications to determine the risk factors for ischemic complications following revascularization surgery for Moyamoya disease (MMD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included 266 procedures between 2016 and 2021. Three types of revascularization approaches including direct bypass, indirect bypass, and combined bypass were performed. To identify risk factors for postoperative ischemic complications and contralateral cerebral infarction, preoperative clinical characteristics and radiographic features were examined using multivariate and ordinal logistic regression analyses...

AIM: To analyze the demographic and clinical data of preterm or low birth weight newborns with periventricular hemorrhage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed patients admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of a Bahcesehir University School of Medicine-Affiliated Hospital due to preterm birth or low birth weight between June 1, 2012, and April 30, 2021. Categorical values were evaluated by Pearson chi-square or Fisher's exact test. The Mann-Whitney U test compared continuous values between the groups...

AIM: To gain a better understanding of ischemia risk related to in-stent stenosis (ISS) or in-stent thrombosis (IST) of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and lenticulostriate arteries after flow-diverting devices (FDD) deployment from the internal carotid artery (ICA) to proximal middle cerebral artery (M1). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using data from a prospectively maintained database, we retrospectively evaluated patients who were treated with FDD between January 2015 and 2020 at a single academic center...

AIM: To examine the effects of regulating increased blood glucose levels on plasma ET-1 levels after severe head trauma in rats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Traumatic diffuse brain injury-induced rats were followed for 7 days and were randomly divided into two groups of 36 rats. Pre- and posttraumatic blood glucose and ET-1 levels were measured in group 1 (control). Posttraumatic blood glucose levels were maintained at normal levels using insulin and both blood glucose and ET-1 levels were measured at 2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h and 7 days posttrauma in group 2...

AIM: To evaluate the outcomes of dynamic stabilization in the multilevel degenerative spondylotic spine, and to compare the two dynamic systems (Dynesys® and Orthrus®) to reveal the increasing role of dynamic systems in the management of the degenerative spine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 74 patients who received dynamic stabilization for degenerative pathologies were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic details: preoperative data including neurological status, pain scores, and radiology; and intraoperative data including blood loss, duration of surgery, complications, and postoperative data including the neurologic status, duration of hospital stay, and pain scores were examined...

AIM: To compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of unilateral percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) surgeries performed using 3D printing technology in patients with osteoporotic compression fractures to conventional unilateral PKP surgeries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with acute painful single-level osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) who need surgical treatment were divided into two groups: group A (patients who had 3D template-guided PKP) and group B (patients who conventional PKP)...

AIM: To evaluate systemic immune inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), multi-inflammatory index (MII), and prognostic nutrition index (PNI), and to compare them with the previously reported inflammation-related hematologic index in lumbar discectomy (LD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study with 105 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for LD. The study comprised three groups: Group I included data from healthy participants, Group II included data before LD, and Group III included data after LD...

AIM: To investigate the feasibility and safety of lumbar spinous process split laminotomy by quantitative anatomic analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Nine fresh adult human cadaveric specimens (including 45 lumbar segments) were divided into 3 groups randomly. The simulated operations and anatomic measurements were performed to evaluate the visibility angle and surgical corridor at different retraction widths (8 mm, 10 mm, and 12 mm). By measuring the width causing bony fracture in 45 lumbar segments, the safety margin of retraction width was determined...

AIM: To elucidate the pro-tumorigenic role of IncRNA FOXD3-AS1 in glioblastoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The expression of miR-3918, FOXD3-AS1, and CCND1 was measured in glioblastoma cells and tissues using reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The effect of FOXD3-AS1 silencing on the proliferation of glioblastoma cells was assessed in vitro using CCK-8 and colony formation assays and in vivo using xenograft mouse models. Additionally, the expression levels of the apoptosis-related proteins, Bcl-2 and Bax, were assessed using western blotting...