Robotic assisted splenectomy after failure of splenic angioembolization in blunt abdominal trauma.

Traumatic blunt splenic injury in the hemodynamically stable patient is initially managed with a nonoperative strategy that may include angioembolization. If patients continue to have ongoing signs of bleeding after angioembolization, definitive management is surgical splenectomy. We report the case of a patient with a grade IV blunt splenic injury who had ongoing bleeding after angioembolization and was taken for diagnostic robotic surgery.

Multicenter comparison of Chiari malformation type I presentation in children versus adults.

Objective: Treatment for Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) often includes surgical intervention in both pediatric and adult patients. The authors sought to investigate fundamental differences between these populations by analyzing data from pediatric and adult patients who required CM-I decompression.

Methods: To better understand the presentation and surgical outcomes of both groups of patients, retrospective data from 170 adults and 153 pediatric patients (2000-2019) at six institutions were analyzed.

Right versus left fully robotic live donor nephrectomy and open kidney transplantation: Does the laterality of the donor kidney really matter?

Objective: Robotic-assisted live donor nephrectomy (LDN) is being gradually adopted across transplant centers. The left donor kidney is preferred over right due to anatomical factors and ease of procurement. We aimed to study donor and recipient outcomes after robotic procurement and subsequent open implantation of right and left kidneys.

Use of intraoperative topical antibiotics to reduce intrathecal baclofen pump surgical site infections: a single institution's experience over 24 years.

Objective: Patients requiring intrathecal baclofen (ITB) therapy are at high risk for surgical site infections (SSIs) given their poor functional status. After years of a nominal infection rate, there was an inexplicable increase in ITB pump infections at the authors' institution and multiple investigations offered no solution. Use of intraoperative topical antibiotics is well-documented in the orthopedic literature and was considered for ITB pump insertion.

Magnetic resonance imaging-guided stereotactic laser ablation therapy for the treatment of pediatric epilepsy: a retrospective multiinstitutional study.

Objective: The authors of this study evaluated the safety and efficacy of stereotactic laser ablation (SLA) for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) in children.

Methods: Seventeen North American centers were enrolled in the study. Data for pediatric patients with DRE who had been treated with SLA between 2008 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.

Pediatric thalamic incidentalomas: an international retrospective multicenter study.

Objective: Widespread use of modern neuroimaging has led to a surge in diagnosing pediatric brain incidentalomas. Thalamic lesions have unique characteristics such as deep location, surgical complexity, and proximity to eloquent neuronal structures. Currently, the natural course of incidental thalamic lesions is unknown.

Quantitative outcomes of endoscopic strip craniectomy for metopic craniosynostosis in children with severe trigonocephaly.

Purpose: To assess intermediate-term (> 3 years) outcomes of endoscopic strip craniectomy with postoperative helmet therapy (ESC + HT) for the treatment of infants with severe trigonocephaly.

Methods: This retrospective study examined cranial morphology of consecutive patients with severe trigonocephaly treated with minimally invasive ESC + HT. Preoperative and follow-up clinical parameters were collected from patient charts.

Magnetic resonance-guided stereotactic laser ablation therapy for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors: a multiinstitutional retrospective study.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of MR-guided stereotactic laser ablation (SLA) therapy in the treatment of pediatric brain tumors.

Methods: Data from 17 North American centers were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, technical, and radiographic data for pediatric patients treated with SLA for a diagnosis of brain tumor from 2008 to 2016 were collected and analyzed.

Quantification of Head Shape from Three-Dimensional Photography for Presurgical and Postsurgical Evaluation of Craniosynostosis.

Background: Evaluation of surgical treatment for craniosynostosis is typically based on subjective visual assessment or simple clinical metrics of cranial shape that are prone to interobserver variability. Three-dimensional photography provides cheap and noninvasive information to assess surgical outcomes, but there are no clinical tools to analyze it. The authors aim to objectively and automatically quantify head shape from three-dimensional photography.

Pediatric posterior fossa incidentalomas.

Purpose: Pediatric brain incidentalomas are increasingly being diagnosed. As the posterior fossa (PF) is the location of most brain tumors in children, lesions of this region are of special interest. Currently, the natural history of incidental lesions in the PF is unknown.

Quantitative evaluation of local head malformations from three-dimensional photography: application to craniosynostosis.

The evaluation of head malformations plays an essential role in the early diagnosis, the decision to perform surgery and the assessment of the surgical outcome of patients with craniosynostosis. Clinicians rely on two metrics to evaluate the head shape: head circumference (HC) and cephalic index (CI). However, they present a high inter-observer variability and they do not take into account the location of the head abnormalities.

Cerebellar mutism syndrome: current approaches to minimize risk for CMS.

Purpose: Cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) is a serious source of morbidity following posterior fossa surgery in the pediatric population. However, methods for effectively decreasing its incidence and impact remain unclear. It is our aim to examine the impact of adjusting surgical factors, namely the use of a telovelar approach and avoidance of cavitronic ultrasonic aspirator, on the incidence of CMS in our population as well as outlining potential pre-, intra-, and postoperative factors that may contribute to its development.

A comparison of endoscopic strip craniectomy and pi craniectomy for treatment of sagittal craniosynostosis.

Objective: Sagittal craniosynostosis is managed with a wide variety of operative strategies. The current investigation compares the clinical outcomes of two widely performed techniques: pi craniectomy and minimally invasive endoscopic strip craniectomy (ESC) followed by helmet therapy.

Methods: This IRB-approved retrospective study examined patients diagnosed with nonsyndromic, single-suture sagittal craniosynostosis treated with either pi craniectomy or ESC.

Radiation-free quantification of head malformations in craniosynostosis patients from 3D photography.

The evaluation of cranial malformations plays an essential role both in the early diagnosis and in the decision to perform surgical treatment for craniosynostosis. In clinical practice, both cranial shape and suture fusion are evaluated using CT images, which involve the use of harmful radiation on children. Three-dimensional (3D) photography offers non-invasive, radiation-free, and anesthetic-free evaluation of craniofacial morphology.

Intracranial Volume Quantification from 3D Photography.

3D photography offers non-invasive, radiation-free, and anesthetic-free evaluation of craniofacial morphology. However, intracranial volume (ICV) quantification is not possible with current non-invasive imaging systems in order to evaluate brain development in children with cranial pathology. The aim of this study is to develop an automated, radiation-free framework to estimate ICV.