Retrospective Evaluation of Neurosurgery Outpatient Services in 3 Different Tertiary Care Hospitals in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Cascading of referrals to health institutions aims to increase the balanced distribution and quality of health services provided. Although health institutions in Turkey are divided into steps in terms of scope, there is no mandatory referral system for patient application. METHODS: Patients admitted to the neurosurgery outpatient clinic of 3 different hospitals in the first week of September 2023 were analyzed. The patients' complaints, reasons for referral to the outpatient clinic, by whom or by which system, the department to which they should have applied, and the necessity of the operation were examined to evaluate. RESULTS: There were 671 applications made to the neurosurgery outpatient clinic in 3 different health institutions. The average examination time per patient was 6 minutes. Surgical treatment was planned for only 14.8% of the patients. Most patients were referred to physical therapy and neurology departments from neurosurgery. Only 59% of the patients came to the examination by making an appointment, while 41% were examined without an appointment. The ratio of inappropriate admissions to total admissions in these 3 health institutions was 85.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Only a minority of patients admitted to the neurosurgery outpatient clinic at a public health institution in Turkey were found to require surgery, while the majority were referred to other outpatient clinics. This study underscores the significance of the referral chain in delivering high-quality health care services, particularly in the field of neurosurgery.

Flow diverter stent treatment for unruptured supraclinoid segment internal carotid artery aneurysms: a Turkish multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the relatively high success of surgical clipping of supraclinoid segment aneurysms of the internal carotid artery (ICA), flow diverter (FD) stent therapy is becoming increasingly used for these aneurysms. This study aims to evaluate the characteristics of FD placement for unruptured ICA supraclinoid segment aneurysms at 6 different centers with different experience levels in Türkiye. METHODS: In this retrospective, multicenter study, the authors reviewed the demographic information, aneurysm shape/dimensions (neck, aspect ratio, dome/neck ratio, and maximum diameter), preoperative antiplatelet regimen, FD stent brand, perioperative complications, intervention time, clinical (modified Rankin Scale) and radiological (O'Kelly-Marotta [OKM] grading scale) outcomes, and follow-up time of 54 patients. RESULTS: A total of 55 interventions for 61 aneurysms (58 supraclinoid ICA aneurysms) were performed in the 54 patients included in the study. The female/male ratio in this population was 44/10, and the mean age was 53.5 ± 13.6 (range 21-82) years. The most common form and location of the aneurysms were saccular 91.4% (53/58) and ophthalmic segment 69% (40/58), respectively. The preferred antiplatelet regimen was acetylsalicylic acid plus ticagrelor 50% (27/54). The overall complication rate was 25.5% (14/55), and the mean follow-up time was 25.76 ± 17.88 months. The successful radiological outcome (OKM grade C or D) rate at the 6-month follow-up was 92.6%. No perioperative complications led to any permanent or transient neurological deficit. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this first multicenter study evaluating FD stent use for unruptured ICA supraclinoid segment aneurysms showed that FD stent treatment is a feasible method for replacing clipping and coil embolization with manageable complications and a high success rate.

Effectiveness of Derivo® Flow Diverter Device in the Endovascular Treatment of Cerebrovascular Aneurysms.

AIM: To report our experience with flow diverter devices in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, and to share the efficacy and clinical results of the Derivo® flow diverter device in the endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular aneurysms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at a regional training and research hospital between October 2015 and March 2020 after approval by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee. The radiology and file records of 21 patients with cerebrovascular aneurysms treated endovascularly using a Derivo® flow diverter device were examined. RESULTS: As per our findings, flow diverter devices were used to treat 27 aneurysms from 21 cases. Among the treated aneurysms, 3, 2, and 22 were in the middle cerebral artery, anterior communicating artery, and internal cerebral artery, respectively. Eight of the patients with a mean age of 56.9 years presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Derivo® flow diverters were used alone in 19 cases, whereas concurrent diverter device and coiling were used in only 3 patients. Complete closure of the aneurysms was observed in 3 (14.2%) cases; meanwhile, a 50% reduction in aneurysm size was observed in 2 (9.5%) cases. Complete aneurysm closure occurred in 20 cases (95%) at the 6-month follow-up. Mortality and morbidity each occurred in 1 (4.7%) case. CONCLUSION: Flow diverter devices provide an efficient and safe method of treatment, especially for fusiform, large, giant, widenecked intracranial aneurysms. Endovascular coil embolization treatment is deemed inappropriate for small aneurysms.

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia as initial symptom in combined hyperactive dysfunction syndrome: case report.

OBJECTIVES: Hyperactive dysfunction syndrome (HDS) is defined as symptoms arising from overactivities in cranial nerves, like trigeminal neuralgia (TN), hemifacial spasm (HFS), and glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN). A combination of these cranial nerve neuralgias, that might or might not occur in one or both sides, either synchronously, or metachronously is called combined hyperactive dysfunction syndrome (CHDS). CASE PRESENTATION: We presented a 73 years-old male patient with CHDS presenting with GPN as the initial symptom, with total relief from GPN, TN, and HFS after microvascular decompression. Up to date, only nine patients have been reported in the literature with symptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: TN-HFS-GPN. Our case is the first case with GPN as the initial symptom. The combination of arterial and venous origin of the offending vessels makes the case picturesage.

Intramedullary dermoid cyst infection mimicking holocord tumor: should radical resection be mandatory?-a case report.

BACKGROUND: Dermoid cysts are benign lesions which contain epidermal and dermal elements. Dermoid cysts usually contain a dermal sinus tract but this is not mandatory. Dermoid cysts can manifest by spinal cord infection without a dermal sinus tract. An infected spinal dermoid cyst associated with a holocord spinal abscess poses diagnostic and surgical challenges. Although radical surgical drainage is considered as the main treatment modality for spinal abscess, less extensive surgery for microbiological sampling and appropriate antibiotic treatment can be another alternative modality. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 1-year-old boy patient was admitted to our hospital with progressive paraplegia, bladder dysfunction, and neck rigidity. Medical history of the patient included recurrent urinary tract infection and cephalosporin treatments several times. Initial neurological examination revealed confusion, fever, neck rigidity, paraplegia (also, the motor power of the right upper extremity was three fifths that of the upper extremities). He had urinary and gastrointestinal retention. Conservative surgery was performed to take pathological and microbiological samples. With appropriate antibiotic regimen, the nuchal rigidity and fever improved dramatically. Infectious parameters in blood biochemistry significantly decreased after the antibiotic regimen. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Holocord spinal abscesses are a rare entity. The source of the disease can be hemopoietic spread or contagious spread. The dermal sinus tract is major risk factor for contagious spread. The major hemopoietic sources are urogenital infection, endocarditis, and infective lung diseases. The hemopoietic spread is a more common source for pediatric patients. The thoracolumbar region is the most common site of involvement. Spinal infection has a tendency to extend longitudinally throughout spinal fibers. The pathogenesis of the holocord edema or syrinx is uncertain. The underlying etiology may be inflammation, infection, and associated venous congestion within the spinal canal. Also, CSF circulation alteration due to arachnoiditis may be another etiological factor. The most important entities on outcome are appropriate surgical treatment and antibiotic administration.