Labyrinthectomy Improves Dizziness in Patients with Vestibular Schwannoma.

 Dizziness is one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms associated with vestibular schwannoma (VS), and there are little data on contributing or alleviating factors in the perioperative setting. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether vestibular nerve sectioning or labyrinthectomy concomitant with surgical resection would improve dizziness in the postoperative period.  This is a retrospective study of a consecutive series of VS patients who underwent resection at a large tertiary care center between 2009 and 2023.

Prognostic value of MIB-1 index in meningioma: a retrospective cohort study to establish an optimal cutoff for recurrence and survival.

Purpose: Predicting long-term outcomes after meningioma resection remains challenging. Ki-67/MIB-1 correlates with recurrence, yet its optimal cutoff is undefined. This study aims to establish a threshold that enhances risk stratification, improves recurrence prediction, and informs postoperative surveillance and adjuvant treatment strategies.

Long-Term Outcomes of Surgical Clipping of Woven EndoBridge-Eligible Middle Cerebral Artery Bifurcation Aneurysms.

Background And Objectives: Endosaccular flow disruption with the Woven EndoBridge (WEB) embolization device emerged as an alternative treatment for wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms (WNBAs). Previous studies used pooled aneurysm locations to conclude the efficacy of the WEB device, failing to account for locational differences in outcomes, most notably at the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Thus, we analyzed characteristics and outcomes among a cohort of WEB-eligible MCA bifurcation aneurysms treated surgically.

Surgical Treatment of Penetrating Wounds After Resuscitation study: a new classification system for penetrating injuries to the posterior fossa.

Objective: The goal of this retrospective study was to evaluate the new Surgical Treatment of Penetrating Wounds After Resuscitation (STOPWAR) posterior fossa penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI) classification scheme, which is based only on features of the projectile trajectory.

Methods: This retrospective investigation evaluated a consecutive series of 71 patients with penetrating posterior fossa injuries who arrived at Mechnikov Dnipropetrovsk Regional Clinical Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, between February 24, 2022, and May 2, 2024. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to examine the relationships between STOPWAR classification and 1-month mortality as well as 1-month outcome on the dichotomized Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS).

Matched three-dimensional organoids and two-dimensional cell lines of melanoma brain metastases mirror response to targeted molecular therapy.

Despite advances in the treatment paradigm for patients with metastatic melanoma, melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) continues to represent a significant treatment challenge. The study of MBM is limited, in part, by shortcomings in existing preclinical models. Surgically eXplanted Organoids (SXOs) are ex vivo, three-dimensional cultures prepared from primary tissue samples with minimal processing that recapitulate genotypic and phenotypic features of parent tumors without an artificial extracellular scaffold.

Matched three-dimensional organoids and two-dimensional cell lines of melanoma brain metastases mirror response to targeted molecular therapy.

Purpose: Despite significant advances in the treatment paradigm for patients with metastatic melanoma, melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) continues to represent a significant treatment challenge. The study of MBM is limited, in part, by shortcomings in existing preclinical models. Surgically eXplanted Organoids (SXOs) are ex vivo, three-dimensional cultures prepared from primary tissue samples with minimal processing that recapitulate genotypic and phenotypic features of parent tumors and are grown without artificial extracellular scaffolding.

Evaluating risk of recurrence in patients with meningioma.

Objective: Meningioma prognostication and treatment continues to evolve with an increasing understanding of tumor biology. In this study, the authors aimed to test conventional predictors of meningioma recurrence, histopathology variables for which there exists some controversy (brain invasion), as well as a novel molecular-based location paradigm.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of a consecutive series of patients with WHO grade I-III meningioma resected at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center between 1994 and 2015.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation tractography and the facilitation of gross total resection in a patient with a motor eloquent glioblastoma: illustrative case.

Background: In patients with perieloquent tumors, neurosurgeons must use a variety of techniques to maximize survival while minimizing postoperative neurological morbidity. Recent publications have shown that conventional anatomical features may not always predict postoperative deficits. Additionally, scientific conceptualizations of complex brain function have shifted toward more dynamic, neuroplastic theories instead of traditional static, localizationist models.

Applying 3-Dimensional Printing and Modeling for Preoperative Reconstruction and Instrumentation Placement Planning in Complex Deformity Surgery.

Background: Advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing technology have enabled the development of customized instrumentation and surgical training platforms. However, no existing studies have assessed how patient-specific 3D-printed spine models can facilitate patient education and operative planning in complex spinal deformity correction.

Objective: To present a cost-effective technique for constructing personalized 3D-printed spine models for patients with severe spinal deformities and to outline how these models can promote informed consent, trainee education, and planning for instrumentation placement and alignment correction.

Repeat laser interstitial thermal therapy for recurrent primary and metastatic intracranial tumors.

Background: Repeat craniotomy in patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors carries significant morbidity and can delay adjuvant treatments. Repeat laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for recurrent disease has been described and could benefit patients with limited cytoreductive options. We aim to describe the indications, safety, and efficacy of repeat LITT for recurrent primary and metastatic intracranial tumors.

Surgical Management of a Massive Frontal Bone Hemangioma: Case Report.

Intraosseous hemangiomas are rare, benign tumors that can arise from the calvarium. These lesions often invade the outer table of the skull, but typically spare the inner table and intracranial structures. En bloc surgical resection is the standard treatment for intraosseous hemangiomas.

TMS Seeded Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography Predicts Permanent Neurological Deficits.

Surgeons must optimize the onco-functional balance by maximizing the extent of resection and minimizing postoperative neurological morbidity. Optimal patient selection and surgical planning requires preoperative identification of nonresectable structures. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a method of noninvasively mapping the cortical representations of the speech and motor systems.

Neurological outcomes following awake and asleep craniotomies with motor mapping for eloquent tumor resection.

Objective: Cortical mapping has been used as a tool to ensure maximal safe resection of intracranial tumors for several decades. Post-surgical motor and language deficits, including seizures, weakness, aphasia, and dysarthria have been well-documented in patients undergoing these operations, particularly on eloquent cortical regions. However, it is not known whether awake versus asleep cortical mapping contributes to differences in postoperative neurological deficits.

Psoas Muscle Index as a Predictor of Perioperative Outcomes in Geriatric Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery.

Study Design: Single-center retrospective study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of psoas muscle mass defined sarcopenia with perioperative outcomes in geriatric patients undergoing elective spine surgery.

Methods: We included geriatric patients undergoing thoracolumbar spinal surgery.

The natural history of non-functioning pituitary adenomas: A meta-analysis of conservatively managed tumors.

Background: Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) are often discovered incidentally. The natural history of NFPA is not well understood, obfuscating evidence-based management decisions. Meta-data of radiographically followed NFPA may help guide conservative versus operative treatment of these tumors.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Gliomas are the most frequent primary brain tumor in adults. Patients with glioblastoma (GBM) tumors deemed inoperable with open surgical techniques and treated only with chemo/radiation have a median overall survival of less than 9 months. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) has emerged as a cytoreductive alternative to surgery for these patients.

Primary peripheral T-cell central nervous system lymphoma.

Background: Primary peripheral T-cell central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare, aggressive tumor that arises in the craniospinal axis and has an increased risk in individuals who are immunocompromised. This lesion often mimics other benign and malignant processes on radiographic imaging, leading to misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. We present a case of a patient with a history of Sjögren's syndrome and progressive neurologic symptoms who underwent craniotomy for diagnosis.

Anisocoria Correlates With Injury Severity and Outcomes After Blunt Traumatic Brain Injury.

BACKGROUND: Automated infrared pupillometry (AIP) has been shown to be helpful in the setting of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and stroke as an indicator of imminent irreversible brain injury. We postulated that the early detection of pupillary dysfunction after light stimulation using AIP may be useful in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of the Establishing Normative Data for Pupillometer Assessment in Neuroscience Intensive Care database, a prospectively populated multicenter registry of patients who had AIP measurements taken during their intensive care unit admission.

Distance traveled to glioblastoma treatment: A measure of the impact of socioeconomic status on survival.

Background: Previous studies have shown improved post-surgical outcomes in patients who travel farther for glioblastoma treatment. This study investigates socioeconomic and facility factors that may influence this relationship.

Methods: Overall survival was calculated and compared by distance to treatment facility using univariate and multivariate survival models.

Quantitative pupillometry in patients with traumatic brain injury and loss of consciousness: A prospective pilot study.

Objective: Loss of consciousness (LOC) is a hallmark feature in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and a strong predictor of outcomes after TBI. The aim of this study was to describe associations between quantitative infrared pupillometry values and LOC, intracranial hypertension, and functional outcomes in patients with TBI.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study of patients evaluated at a Level 1 trauma center between November 2019 and February 2020.

Patient-Derived Cancer Organoids for Precision Oncology Treatment.

The emergence of three-dimensional human organoids has opened the door for the development of patient-derived cancer organoid (PDO) models, which closely recapitulate parental tumor tissue. The mainstays of preclinical cancer modeling include in vitro cell lines and patient-derived xenografts, but these models lack the cellular heterogeneity seen in human tumors. Moreover, xenograft establishment is resource and time intensive, rendering these models difficult to use to inform clinical trials and decisions.