Bedside ventriculostomy is a safe and accurate procedure for intracranial pressure monitoring and cerebrospinal fluid drainage.

Atlas fractures can be treated with halo-brace immobilization with acceptable outcomes. The role of surgical fixation, especially for atlas burst fractures, requires further study for clarification.

Pediatric aneurysms require complex microsurgical techniques to achieve favorable outcomes. They leave higher rates of recurrence and de novo formation or growth than their adult counterparts, which mandates lifelong follow-up.

Despite fulminant presenting symptoms, high-risk intracranial DAVFs can be successfully managed with good outcomes. When anatomic features prevent endovascular access, or embolization fails to obliterate the lesion, urgent surgical treatment is indicated. Patients with residual filling of the DAVF should be considered for adjuvant therapy, including further embolization or radiosurgery.

Over the study period, a diminishing proportion of patients with petroclival meningioma were treated using petrosal approaches. Utilization of the orbitozygomatic and retrosigmoid approaches alone or in combination provided a viable alternative to petrosal approaches for treatment of petroclival meningioma. Regardless of approach, progression-free survival rates were excellent over short-term follow-up period.

There seems to be an increased incidence of formation of sterile seroma and painful edema in the lumbar region after posterolateral fusion with rhBMP-2. This report, along with other series highlighting the potential complications of bone morphogenetic proteins, suggests that more caution should be used when these compounds are used. Further studies are required to better define the risks and benefits of using bone morphogenetic proteins for spine surgery.

In carefully selected patients, 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with plating can be associated with high rates of fusion. The technique is safe and effective for managing multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy and may obviate the need for circumferential procedures.

Wrapping or clip-wrapping of unclippable intracranial aneurysms is safe and seems to confer protection against aneurysmal growth or subarachnoid hemorrhage.