Introduction The role of the nurse in endoscopic craniosynostosis surgery began in 1996, after the first surgery was performed at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The role involved not only patient care and family communication, but also coordinating a new type…
Introduction As with any other surgical operation, adequate preparation and planning prior to performing the procedure are crucial and paramount to obtaining an excellent result and minimizing complications. In the case of minimally invasive procedures with small incisions and narrow…
Craniosynostosis, defined as the untimely and premature closure of a calvarial suture in an infant, leads to well-defined and described phenotypic deformational changes of the neocranium, endocranium, or both. The first recorded description in modern times is ascribed to Otto…
Pathogenesis of Abnormal Facial Development Rapid brain growth in the first few months of life results in a rapidly expanding cranium and associated facial changes. The multiple sutures of the skull are critical during this time in allowing the healthy…
Early Descriptions of Cranial Morphology and Cranial Sutures The first documented report describing the diversity of cranial morphology dates to 440 BCE in Herodotus’ work, The Histories ( Ἱστορίαι Historíai ). Herodotus (484–425 BCE), an ancient Greek historian, hypothesized through…
Indications Intramedullary spinal cord tumor (IMSCT) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the setting of neurologic symptoms (pain, sensory disturbances, motor weakness, nonspecific complaints). IMSCT, associated cyst, or syringomyelia that has progressed on follow-up MRI. IMSCT on MRI that is…
Indications Symptomatic patients: intradural meningioma (IM) causing pain or neurologic deficit. Incidental finding: IM causing mass effect on the spinal cord or associated nerve roots. Surgery should be considered for these lesions because of the slowly progressive growth pattern and…
Indications An intradural extramedullary lesion causing neurologic symptoms, including weakness, sensory deficits, or pain, is an indication for surgery. Early and aggressive surgical resection, with the aim of gross total resection, is associated with the best outcomes. You’re Reading a…
Indications Obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) has a high percentage of injuries achieve complete recovery spontaneously, yet this does not occur in roughly 30% of patients. For OBPP, the typical lesion in infants is a neuroma-in-continuity, incomplete stretching that allows…
Indications Clinical symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) include numbness and paresthesias or pain in the median nerve distribution of the hand and fingers. Weakness, stiffness, or clumsiness of the hand also is seen. The major disability the patients report…