Navigated Simultaneous Lateral Minimally Invasive Tubular and Posterior Mini-Open Access for Removal and Revision of Triangular Sacroiliac Joint Implants: A Technical Note.

BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) fusion, to treat back pain caused by SIJ dysfunction, can employ open or minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques and either cylindrical (screw-shaped) or triangular (wedge-shaped) implants. Fusion nonunion sometimes explains recurrent SIJ pain following fusion and occasionally requires hardware revision. MIS revision minimizes patient pain, infection, and disability, but due to the triangular implant size and form factor, implant removal can present challenges for MIS access during the explantation and achieving good bony purchase for reinstrumentation. Here, we report a prone single-position lateral MIS/posterior mini-open procedure for triangular-implant SIJ fusion revision. METHODS: The patient is a 72-year-old female who underwent right SIJ fusion for lower back and leg pain sustained after a fall 2 years prior but experienced recurrent pain over the subsequent 2 years, with imaging findings of right SIJ peri-hardware lucencies and diagnostic injections confirming persistent right-sided sacroiliitis. RESULTS: The patient underwent hardware removal using the lateral MIS incision with table-mounted tubular access and image-guided navigation to maintain exposure, plus simultaneous reinstrumentation using a navigated S2-alar-iliac screw and iliac bolt construct with connecting rod through the posterior mini-open incision made for the navigation reference frame spinous process clamp. CONCLUSIONS: The use of navigation and MIS access can significantly decrease the complexity of lateral hardware removal, and mini-open navigated screw-and-rod constructs offer reinstrumentation options accessible to surgeons unfamiliar with specialized posterior SIJ systems.

Radiological and clinical outcomes of stereotactic radiosurgery for gangliogliomas: an international multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: The optimal treatment for recurrent and residual gangliogliomas remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the management of patients with recurrent or residual intracranial ganglioglioma. METHODS: This retrospective multicenter study involved patients managed with SRS for ganglioglioma. The study endpoints included local tumor control and tumor- or SRS-related neurological morbidity following treatment. Factors associated with tumor progression and neurological morbidity were also analyzed. RESULTS: The cohort included 20 patients (11 males [55%]) with a median age of 24.5 (IQR 14) years who had been managed with SRS for ganglioglioma. Five-year radiological progression-free survival was 85.6%. After SRS, 2 patients (10%) experienced transient neurological deterioration. At a median clinical follow-up of 88.5 (IQR 112.5) months, 1 patient (5%) experienced seizure worsening and 1 (5%) required further resection of the tumor because of radiological progression. No mortality was noted in this series. CONCLUSIONS: SRS appears to be a safe and effective treatment option for surgically inaccessible, recurrent, and residual gangliogliomas. In this series, the 5-year progression-free survival rate after SRS was 85.6%. Gross-total resection remains the primary treatment of choice for patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent ganglioglioma. SRS may be considered for patients unfit for surgery and those with surgically inaccessible newly diagnosed, residual, and recurrent lesions.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for IDH wild type glioblastoma: an international, multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation status is recommended used for diagnosis and prognostication of glioblastoma patients. We studied efficacy and safety of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for patients with recurrent IDH-wt glioblastoma. METHODS: Consecutive patients treated with SRS for IDH-wt glioblastoma were pooled for this retrospective observational international multi-institutional study from institutions participating in the International Radiosurgery Research Foundation. RESULTS: Sixty patients (median age 61 years) underwent SRS (median dose 15 Gy and median treatment volume: 7.01 cm3) for IDH-wt glioblastoma. All patients had histories of surgery and chemotherapy with temozolomide, and 98% underwent fractionated radiation therapy. MGMT status was available for 42 patients, of which half of patients had MGMT mutant glioblastomas. During median post-SRS imaging follow-up of 6 months, 52% of patients experienced tumor progression. Median post-SRS progression free survival was 4 months. SRS prescription dose of > 14 Gy predicted longer progression free survival [HR 0.357 95% (0.164-0.777) p = 0.009]. Fifty-percent of patients died during post-SRS clinical follow-up that ranged from 1 to 33 months. SRS treatment volume of > 5 cc emerged as an independent predictor of shorter post-SRS overall survival [HR 2.802 95% CI (1.219-6.444) p = 0.02]. Adverse radiation events (ARE) suggestive of radiation necrosis were diagnosed in 6/55 (10%) patients and were managed conservatively in the majority of patients. CONCLUSIONS: SRS prescription dose of > 14 Gy is associated with longer progression free survival while tumor volume of > 5 cc is associated with shorter overall survival after SRS for IDH-wt glioblastomas. AREs are rare and are typically managed conservatively.