Injection of colored silicone into the vascular tree can enhance the educational value of cadaveric head dissections. This report describes the technique of vascular injection that is used in the Goodyear Microsurgical Laboratory, the University of Cincinnati, and the Mayfield Clinic.

Although patient selection remains important, the authors' experience and the results of this systematic review with meta-analysis suggest that the majority of elderly patients with TN can safely undergo MVD.

Intracranial aneurysms are pathological enlargements of brain arteries that are believed to arise from progressive wall degeneration and remodeling. Earlier work using classical histological approaches identified variability in cerebral aneurysm mural content, ranging from layered walls with intact endothelium and aligned smooth muscle cells, to thin, hypocellular walls. Here, we take advantage of recent advances in multiphoton microscopy, to provide novel results for collagen fiber architecture in 15 human aneurysm domes without staining or fixation as well as in 12 control cerebral arteries. For all aneurysm samples, the elastic lamina was absent and the abluminal collagen fibers had similar diameters to control arteries. In contrast, the collagen fibers on the luminal side showed great variability in both diameter and architecture ranging from dense fiber layers to sparse fiber constructs suggestive of ineffective remodeling efforts. The mechanical integrity of eight aneurysm samples was assessed using uniaxial experiments, revealing two sub-classes (i) vulnerable unruptured aneurysms (low failure stress and failure pressure), and (ii) strong unruptured aneurysms (high failure stress and failure pressure). These results suggest a need to refine the end-point of risk assessment studies that currently do not distinguish risk levels among unruptured aneurysms. We propose that a measure of wall integrity that identifies this vulnerable wall subpopulation will be useful for interpreting future biological and structural data.

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Understanding the critical meningeal architecture in and around Meckel's cave allows experienced cranial neurosurgeons to develop a subtemporal interdural approach to dumbbell-shaped trigeminal schwannomas that effectively converts a multiple-compartment tumor into a single-compartment tumor. Dural incisions and stepwise mobilization complements our previous description of the bony dissection for this approach.

This study shows that benign intracranial hypertension is prevalent in a significant number of patients presenting with spontaneous encephalocele with CSF otorrhea at a rate much higher than is found in the general population. This finding has direct clinical implications and suggests that all patients with spontaneous encephalocele/CSF leak warrant evaluation for benign intracranial hypertension.

Understanding the MacCarty keyhole burr hole and the microsurgical anatomy of the inferior orbital fissure is essential to performing the FTOZ1 approach. The three types of FTOZ1 approach enable the surgeon to tailor the approach according to the surgical exposure needed for each lesion.

Purpose To investigate the relationship between the intra-aneurysmal hemodynamic conditions and the mechanical properties of the wall in human aneurysms. Methods A total of eight unruptured aneurysms were analyzed. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were constructed from pre-operative 3D rotational angiography images. The aneurysms were clipped and the domes were resected and mechanically tested to failure with a uniaxial testing system under multi-photon microscopy. Linear regression analysis was performed to explore possible correlations between hemodynamic quantities and the failure characteristics and stiffness of the wall. Results The ultimate strain was negatively correlated to aneurysm inflow rate (p=0.021), mean velocity (p=0.025), and mean wall shear stress (p=0.039). It was also negatively correlated to inflow concentration, oscillatory shear index and measures of the complexity and instability of the flow; however these trends did not reach statistical significance. The wall stiffness at high strains was positively correlated to inflow rate (p=0.014), mean velocity (p=0.008), inflow concentration (p=0.04), flow instability (p=0.006), flow complexity (p=0.019), wall shear stress (p=0.002) and oscillatory shear index (p=0.004). Conclusions In a study of 8 unruptured intracranial aneurysms, ultimate strain is negatively correlated with aneurysm inflow rate, mean velocity and mean wall shear stress. Wall stiffness is positively correlated with aneurysm inflow rate, mean velocity, wall shear stress, flow complexity and stability, and oscillatory shear index. These trends and the impact of hemodynamics on wall structure and mechanical properties should be further investigated in larger studies.