Emergency Treatment of Cervical Vertebromedullary Trauma: 10 Years of Experience and Outcome Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to identify and validate, through the recording of clinical and radiological data, the different surgical approaches and treatments valid for most subaxial cervical dislocation fractures and whether there is an advantage from using an anterior approach rather than a posterior approach and conversely.. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out analyzing the case history of the last 10 years of vertebromedullary traumas treated at the spine surgery unit of the Policlinico Gemelli in Rome. Data on surgical timing, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scores for neurological damage, and subsequent assessments on recovery, survival, and mortality were also examined. RESULTS: A total of 80 patients were treated: 50 by the posterior approach, 24 by the anterior approach, and six by the double approach. Our average follow-up time was 4.2 years. A prevalence of surgery with the posterior approach was noted. We observed the worsening of cervical kyphosis about 15 months after the trauma in two cases treated with the posterior approach alone. A second surgical treatment was performed in these patients. One of these patients underwent an anterior fusion; the other case underwent a posterior revision because the patient had ankylosing spondylitis. Although we found no statistically significant difference in outcomes between the various surgical treatments, in this retrospective study, we analyzed the characteristics and outcomes of cervical spine injuries that required surgical treatment. CONCLUSION: The aim of surgery in unstable cervical spine injuries should be to reduce and stabilize the damaged segment, maintain lordosis, and decompress when indicated. The optimal choice of surgical approach and treatment, or its superiority in terms of outcomes, remains a debated issue.

Lateral Approach to the Cervical Spine to Manage Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Radiculopathy.

BACKGROUND: The cervical lateral approach can enlarge the spinal canal and foramen to achieve an effective neural decompression without needing spine stabilization. For this review, the authors' main objective was to illustrate the rationale, advantages, disadvantages, complications, and pitfalls of this technique, highlighting also areas for future development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Medline via PubMed database search was carried out by using both keywords, namely "cervical oblique corpectomy," "multilevel oblique corpectomy and foraminotomy," and "lateral vertebrectomy," and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms from 1 January 1991, up to 31 December 2021. RESULTS: The analyzed articles suggested that the use of such a technique has declined over time; only 29 clinical studies met all the inclusion criteria and were retained for data analysis, including 1200 patients undergoing such an approach for the management of degenerative cervical myelopathies (DCMs) or of radiculopathies. The main etiopathogeneses were cervical stenosis, degenerative disk disease, or a mix of them-78% of which had a favorable outcome; the most frequent complications were transient and permanent Horner syndrome in 13.6% and 9.2% of cases, respectively. Long-term stability was reported in 97% of patients. CONCLUSION: Multilevel cervical oblique vertebrectomy and/or lateral foraminotomy allow wide neural structure decompression and optimal stability given that the physiological spinal motion is preserved.

Through the orbit and beyond: Current state and future perspectives in endoscopic orbital surgery on behalf of the EANS frontiers committee in orbital tumors and the EANS skull base section.

Introduction: Orbital surgery has always been disputed among specialists, mainly neurosurgeons, otorhinolaryngologists, maxillofacial surgeons and ophthalmologists. The orbit is a borderland between intra- and extracranial compartments; Krönlein's lateral orbitotomy and the orbitozygomatic infratemporal approach are the historical milestones of modern orbital-cranial surgery. Research question: Since its first implementation, endoscopy has significantly impacted neurosurgery, changing perspectives and approaches to the skull base. Since its first application in 2009, transorbital endoscopic surgery opened the way for new surgical scenario, previously feasible only with extensive tissue dissection. Material and methods: A PRISMA based literature search was performed to select the most relevant papers on the topic. Results: Here, we provide a narrative review on the current state and future trends in endoscopic orbital surgery. Discussion and conclusion: This manuscript is a joint effort of the EANS frontiers committee in orbital tumors and the EANS skull base section.

Women in Neurosurgery: Historical Path to Self-Segregation and Proposal for an Integrated Future.

Despite the rising percentage of women accessing the medical profession over the last few decades, surgical specialties are still largely male-dominated; in particular, a remarkable gender disparity is evident in neurosurgery, where only 19% of practitioners are females. Although women may be reluctant to choose a challenging specialty like neurosurgery due to concerns around how to balance family and career, it must be admitted that prejudices against female neurosurgeons have been deeply rooted for long, prompting many to give up and switch track to less demanding subspecialties. Among those who have persisted, many, if not most, have experienced difficulties in career progression and received unequal treatment in comparison with their male counterparts. In 1989, a group of 8 female neurosurgeons founded Women in Neurosurgery (WINS), an organization that aimed to guarantee inclusivity in neurosurgery, encouraging a better and more egalitarian working environment. Thereafter, WINS sessions were regularly promoted at international conferences, offering female neurosurgeons a platform to report issues related to gender discrimination. Over recent years, the mission of WINS sessions in national and international conferences has taken an unexpected deviation; they have progressively become supplementary scientific sessions with only women neurosurgeons as speakers, thus paving the road to a form of self-segregation. This tendency has also resulted in the establishment of sections of only female neurosurgeons within some national societies. Although there remains a faction that fiercely supports the WINS mindset of reserved spaces for women, such segregation is an upsetting prospect for those who believe that science and professionalism have no gender; a growing part of the global neurosurgical community believes that the conception of a "female neurosurgery" and a "male neurosurgery" is misguided and counterproductive and consider the existence of the WINS as anachronistic and no longer necessary.

A snapshot of European neurosurgery December 2019 vs. March 2020: just before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19), which began as an epidemic in China and spread globally as a pandemic, has necessitated resource management to meet emergency needs of Covid-19 patients and other emergent cases. We have conducted a survey to analyze caseload and measures to adapt indications for a perception of crisis. METHODS: We constructed a questionnaire to survey a snapshot of neurosurgical activity, resources, and indications during 1 week with usual activity in December 2019 and 1 week during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in March 2020. The questionnaire was sent to 34 neurosurgical departments in Europe; 25 departments returned responses within 5 days. RESULTS: We found unexpectedly large differences in resources and indications already before the pandemic. Differences were also large in how much practice and resources changed during the pandemic. Neurosurgical beds and neuro-intensive care beds were significantly decreased from December 2019 to March 2020. The utilization of resources decreased via less demand for care of brain injuries and subarachnoid hemorrhage, postponing surgery and changed surgical indications as a method of rationing resources. Twenty departments (80%) reduced activity extensively, and the same proportion stated that they were no longer able to provide care according to legitimate medical needs. CONCLUSION: Neurosurgical centers responded swiftly and effectively to a sudden decrease of neurosurgical capacity due to relocation of resources to pandemic care. The pandemic led to rationing of neurosurgical care in 80% of responding centers. We saw a relation between resources before the pandemic and ability to uphold neurosurgical services. The observation of extensive differences of available beds provided an opportunity to show how resources that had been restricted already under normal conditions translated to rationing of care that may not be acceptable to the public of seemingly affluent European countries.

Surgical Treatment of Chiari Malformation in Adults: Comparison of Surgical Techniques Described in the Literature and Our Experience.

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From less to maximally invasiveness in cervical spine surgery: A "nightmare" case who deserve consideration.

INTRODUCTION: Multilevel cervical myelopathy without surgical treatment is generally poor in the neurological deficit without surgical decompression. The two main surgical strategies used for the treatment of multilevel cervical myelopathy are anterior decompression via anterior corpectomy or posterior decompression via laminctomy/laminoplasty. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present the case of a 62 year-old lady, harboring rheumatoid artritis (RA) with gait disturbances, pain, and weakness in both arms. A C5 and C6 somatectomy, C4-C7 discectomy and, instrumentation and fusion with telescopic distractor "piston like", anterior plate and expandable screws were performed. Two days later the patient complained dysfagia, and a cervical X-ray showed hardware dislocation. So a C4 somatectomy, telescopic extension of the construct up to C3 with expandible screws was performed. After one week the patient complained again soft dysfagia. New cervical X-ray showed the pull out of the cranial screws (C3). So the third surgery "one stage combined" an anterior decompression with fusion along with posterior instrumentation, and fusion was performed. DISCUSSION: There is a considerable controversy over which surgical approach will receive the best clinical outcome for the minimum cost in the compressive cervical myelopathy. However, the most important factors in patient selection for a particular procedure are the clinical symptoms and the radiographic alignment of the spine. the goals of surgery for cervical multilevel stenosis include the restoration of height, alignment, and stability. CONCLUSION: We stress the importance of a careful patients selection, and invocated still the importance for 360° cervical fixation.

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with "mini-invasive" harvesting of iliac crest graft versus polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages: a retrospective outcome analysis.

BACKGROUND: Limited outcome data suggested a minimal evidence for better clinical and radiographic outcome of polyetheretherketone cages compared with bone grafts in the anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. We proposed a "mini-invasive" surgical technique for harvesting iliac crest grafts that provides bicortical autografts of sufficient size to be used in multilevel cervical procedures and is not associated with long-term significant donor site pain. METHODS: All patients undergoing discectomy and fusion during a three years period were consecutively extracted from computer database and retrospectively evaluated by means of telephonic interview, independently from surgical procedure (iliac crest autograph or prosthesis). Two procedure-blinded neurologists retrieved baseline clinical-demographic data and pre-surgical scores of routinely performed scales for pain and functional abilities. Afterwards, a third blinded neurologist performed clinical follow up by a semi-structured interview including Verbal Analog Scale for pain and Neck Disability Scale for discomfort. RESULTS: 80 patients out of 115 selected cases completed the follow up. 40 patients had been treated by mini-invasive bone graft harvesting and 40 with PEEK cages for cervical fusion. VAS for both neck and arm pain were significantly reduced within groups. Patients did not complaint any significant pain and/or paraesthesias at donor site from the first week after intervention. Neck Disability Scale was significantly lower at the end of follow up in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: "Miniinvasive" bicortical autografts is a less invasive, inexpensive technique to harvest iliac graft that may produce a reduced amount of general and local donor-site complications without outcome differences with prosthetic cages.

Double-level cervical total disc replacement for adjacent segment disease: is it a useful treatment? Description of late onset heterotopic ossification and review of the literature.

We report a rare case of double-level adjacent segment disease (ASD), occurring ten years later an anterior cervical discectomy (ACD) without fusion, treated by cervical arthroplasty, highlighting the outcome at long-term follow-up and focusing on heterotopic ossification. In 1995 a 25-year-old man satisfactorily underwent ACD at C4/C5. At that time MRI also showed signs of degenerative disc disease (DDD) at C3/C4 and C5/C6. Ten years later, a new MRI scan showed a large C3/C4 and a smaller C5/C6 soft disc hernia together with spondylotic changes at the level above and below the site of the first surgery. At C4/C5 imaging revealed a kyphotic stable "pseudoarthrosis" with anterior bridging osteophyte. The patient underwent double-level arthroplasty with ProDisc-C. Clinical and radiological outcome was satisfactory. 3 and 5 years after surgery, X-rays and CT scan documented the progressive development of heterotopic ossification, with gradual reduction of range of motion. A late onset heterotopic ossification can neutralize the theoretical advantages of cervical arthroplasty, which should be considered an effective surgical option only in selected cases. ACDF and restoration of normal lordosis can be a viable alternative in cervical revision surgery, as motion preservation can not be always mantained for a long time.

Laminoplasty is better of laminectomy in cervical stenotic myelopathy: myth or truth?

INTRODUCTION: Laminoplasty has been proposed as a treatment for cervical stenotic myelopathy (CSM) as an alternative to standard laminectomy as this has been considered directly associated with an increased risk of postoperative deformity. METHODS: We retrospective reviewed postoperative results of open door laminoplasty (unilateral approach technique) compared with laminectomy in terms of clinical/electophysiological results (somatosensory evoked potentials - SSEP, and motor evoked potentials - MEP); in addition the rate of subsequent spinal deformities was analyzed in both techniques. RESULTS: Postoperative results in terms of late follow up neurological assessment and neurophysiological improvement was substantially comparable in both groups. Postoperative dynamic cervical X-rays showed a kyphotic deformity in (12.5%) in patients undergoing laminectomy; none was unstable. No case of kypothic deformity occurred in patients undergoing open door laminoplasty. Complication rate was similar in both groups. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Standard laminectomy seems to be associated to late cervical spine deformities in a more relevant percentage of patients, possibly leading to severe forms of kyphosis and segmental instability over time compared with open-door expansive laminoplasty. The unilateral approach represents an evolution to standard open door technique that further spares posterior elements, may decrease the incidence of progressive spinal deformity and prevent the need for subsequent spinal stabilization.

Transient breathing disorders after posterior cervical surgery for degenerative diseases: pathophysiological interpretation.

Central sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that manifests as repetitive cessation of the breath during the sleep. The occurrence of breathing disorders after cervical laminectomy has been exceptionally described as a complication after cervical decompressive laminectomy for cervical stenotic myelopathy. In 1994, Naim-ur-Rahman reported the first case of postoperative central sleep apnea following C3-C6 laminectomy, occurring right after surgery and associated with spyncterial incontinence, that spontaneously recovered three weeks after onset. Recently we described a rare complication of cervical laminectomy for cervical stenotic myelopathy: the onset was delayed from surgery (nearly two weeks later) and cervical stenotic myelopathy was not associated to any other neurological sign of spinal cord damage as demonstrated by the neurophysiological assessment. Possible familiar predisposition can be matter of discussion. No definite interpretation of pathophysiological mechanisms can ultimately explain the occurrence of delayed and isolated central sleep apnea after laminectomy for the treatment of cervical stenotic myelopathy. Such a reversible and benign complication remain unpredictable in the best surgical hands.

The role of imaging in the pre- and postoperative evaluation of posterior occipito-cervical fusion.

PURPOSE: Occipitocervical fusion is required when the occipitoatlantal joint is unstable. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of imaging in the pre- and postoperative evaluation of posterior occipitocervical fusion (POCF), focusing on contoured loop fixation by Hartshill and Songer instrumentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 21 patients (eight males, 12 females; age range 6-70 years; mean age 32.6 years) with craniocervical instability who underwent POCF with Hartshill U-shaped rod and Songer sublaminar wires. Pre- and postoperative radiographic, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations were performed in all patients. A 3- to 6-month period of external orthosis with halo vest, sterno-occipitalmandibular immobiliser (SOMI) brace or Philadelphia collar followed surgery. Follow-up was 12-96 (mean 53.1) months. RESULTS: Clinical assessment using the Frankel scale revealed improvement or deterioration arrest in all but two patients: one with C3 failure and halo destabilisation; the other, who had exhibited myelopathy signs on preoperative MR imaging and persistent basilar impression, showed increasing and progressive neurological deficits despite successful POCF. CONCLUSIONS: Pre- and postoperative imaging is extremely useful in patients scheduled to undergo POCF. Preoperative MR screening of basilar impression associated with possible spinal cord lesions appears mandatory to predict possible deterioration and prevent undesired failure of the operation and it may suggest the need for an alternative surgical approach, such as the transoral approach.

Advances in videoassisted anterior surgical approach to the craniovertebral junction.

At the present time, an update to the classical microsurgical transoral decompression is supported by the most recent literature dealing with the introduction of the endoscopy in spine surgery. In this paper, we present all the reported experience on the surgical approaches to anterior cranioveretebral junction (CVJ) compressive pathology managed by endoscopy. Surgical strategies dealing with decompressive procedures by using an open access, microsurgical technique, neuronavigation and endoscopy are summarized.Endoscopy represents a useful complement to the standard microsurgical approach to the anterior CVJ. Endoscopy can be used via transnasal, transoral and transcervical routes; it facilitates visualisation and better decompression without the need for soft palate splitting, hard palate resection, or extended maxillotomy. Although neuronavigation enhances orientation within the surgical field, intraoperative fluoroscopy helps to recognize residual compression.Under normal anatomical conditions, there appear to be no surgical limitations for the endoscopically assisted transoral approach compared with the pure endonasal and transcervical endoscopic approaches.The endoscope has a clear role as "support" to the standard transoral microsurgical approach since 30° angulated endoscopy increases the surgical area exposed over the posterior pharyngeal wall and the extent of the clivus.