• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.250-256
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• 2017

Objective : Cases of a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a high risk of intraoperative premature rupture and technical difficulties for proximal vascular control require a technique for the early and safe establishment of proximal vascular control. Methods : A combined pterional or subfrontal approach exposes the bilateral A1 segments or the origin of the ipsilateral A2 segment of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) for proximal vascular control. Proximal control far from the ruptured aneurysm facilitates tentative clipping of the rupture point of the aneurysm without a catastrophic premature rupture. The proximal control is then switched to the pericallosal artery just proximal to the aneurysm and its intermittent clipping facilitates complete aneurysm dissection and neck clipping. Results : Three such cases are reported : a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a contained leak of the contrast from the proximal side of the aneurysm, a low-lying ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with irregularities on its proximal wall, and a multilobulated ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with the parasagittal bridging veins hindering surgical access to the proximal parent artery. In each case, the proposed combined pterional-interhemispheric or subfrontal-interhemispheric approach was successfully performed to establish proximal vascular control far from the ruptured aneurysm and facilitated aneurysm clipping via the interhemispheric approach. Conclusion : When using an anterior interhemispheric approach for a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a high risk of premature rupture, a pterional or subfrontal approach can be combined to establish early proximal vascular control at the bilateral A1 segments or the origin of the A2 segment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.259-262
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• 2010

Large to giant middle cerebral artery aneurysm is a challenging disease, especially when incorporating important perforating arteries. Surgical risk increases by perforator infarction and anatomical complexity. In this clinical setting, extensive consideration of surgical options is needed. The two cases described here were unruptured and had rather stable wall. Because of their large and giant size, hardness and incorporated arteries, it was not affordable to isolate them by means of clipping or trapping. The procedure as the alternative to conventional treatment modalities, extracranial-intracranial bypass followed by clipping of only the efferent artery successfully treated the aneurysms.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.292-295
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• 2012

Many reports have been published on complications related to middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm surgical clipping procedures. We report an emergency intracranial in situ bypass surgery case which was performed as a rescue procedure after aneurysmal neck laceration during clipping of an MCA large aneurysm. In this case, we performed in situ M3-superficial temporal artery (STA) interposition graft-M3 bypass procedure. If a STA-MCA anastomosis is not available under MCA flow obstruction, we can consider an emergency in situ MCA-MCA bypass procedure with or without an STA interposition graft.

• Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2023

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a 3D-printed aneurysm simulation model (3DPM) in educating patients and improving physicians' comprehension and performance. Methods: This prospective study involved 40 patients who were diagnosed with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) and scheduled for surgical clipping or endovascular coiling and randomly divided into two groups (the 3DPM group and the non-3DPM group). The 3DPM was used in preoperative consultation with patients and intraoperatively referenced by surgeons. The patients, 7 neurosurgical residents, and 10 surgeons completed questionnaires (5-point Likert scale) to determine the usefulness of the 3DPM. Results: Patients in the 3DPM group had significantly higher scores in terms of their understanding of the disease (mean 4.85 vs. 3.95, p<0.001) and the treatment plan (mean 4.85 vs. 4.20, p=0.005) and reported higher satisfaction during consultation (5.0 vs. 4.60, p=0.036) than patients in the non-3DPM group. During patient consultation, 3DPMs were most useful in improving doctor-patient communication (mean 4.57, range 4-5). During clipping surgery, the models were most useful in assessing adjacent arteries (mean 4.9, range 4-5); during endovascular coiling, they were especially helpful in microcatheter shaping (mean 4.7, range 4-5). Conclusions: In general, 3DPMs are beneficial in educating patients and improving the physician's performance in terms of surgical clipping and endovascular coiling of UIAs.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.586-592
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• 2024

Lateral spinal artery (LSA) aneurysms are extremely rare lesions that can rupture and cause subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) even though the spinal arteries communicate directly with the subarachnoid space. To date, six cases of LSA aneurysms have been reported in the literature. Herein, three such cases are reported. All patients presented to the emergency department with headaches. The patients in the first two cases were confirmed to have SAH and LSA aneurysms on a brain computed tomography (CT) angiography performed at the hospital. Two patients had prior instances of cerebral infarction and coronary disease, respectively, and were undergoing antiplatelet therapy. The antiplatelet medication was stopped for 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively, while conservative care was provided. Subsequently, a suboccipital craniectomy was performed, followed by aneurysm clipping. Following the surgery, both patients were discharged without any significant neurological deficits. Regarding the third patient, no aneurysm was found on brain CT angiography, and cerebral angiography was performed during the patient's hospital stay. She was hospitalized, where she received medication and conservative care, and was discharged with an improvement in bleeding without neurological symptoms. Subsequently, a LSA aneurysm was identified on a brain CT angiography performed at an outpatient clinic; however, the patient was transferred because she wanted to be treated at another hospital. LSA aneurysms are difficult to visualize using CT angiography; therefore, careful angiographic studies are required. Surgical clipping is the treatment of choice if the aneurysm is inaccessible by the endovascular treatment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.4-13
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• 2020

For surgical minimalism to reduce iatrogenic traumatization, a supraorbital keyhole approach has already been successfully applied to treat many unruptured anterior circulation aneurysms. However, using this minimal approach also raises several technical concerns due to the small cranial opening and cosmetic impact of a facial incision. Yet, such technical limitations can be overcome by using favorable surgical indications, slender surgical instruments, and optimized surgical techniques, while excellent cosmetic outcomes can be achieved using a short skin incision located <1 cm from the supraorbital margin, reconstruction of any bone defects around the bone flap, and meticulous wound closure. Thus, given such reassuring surgical results, in terms of the clipping status, neurological effects, and cosmetic outcomes, any concerns can be transitioned into confidence.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.252-254
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• 2013

Textiloma is an inflammatory mass containing surgical sponges that are unintentionally left behind in a surgical wound. This complication has been most commonly described by abdominal and gynecologic surgeons. However, the occurrence of textiloma after intracranial procedures especially under the temporalis muscle has not been documented. The author reports a rare case of textiloma of the pterion in a patient who presented with a subcutaneous tumor developed eight years after frontotemporal craniotomy for aneurysm clipping.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.462-466
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• 2015

Objective : Post-craniotomy seizure (PCS) is reported only rarely. However, our department noted a 433% increase in PCS for a year beginning September 2010, especially after cerebrovascular surgery. Our goal was to identify the cause of our unusual outbreak of PCS. Methods : For almost one year after September 2010, cases of PCS increased significantly in our department. We analyzed 973 patients who had received a major craniotomy between January 2009 and November 2011. We included seizures that occurred only in the first 24 postoperative hours, which we defined as early PCS. After verifying the presence of PCS, we analyzed multiple seizure-provoking factors and their relation to the duration and character of seizure activity. Results : Overall PCS incidence was 7.2% (70/973). Cefazolin (2 g/L saline) was the antibiotic drug used for intraoperative irrigation in 88.4% of the operations, and no PCS occurred without intraoperative cefazolin irrigation. When analyzed by operation type, clipping surgery for unruptured aneurysms was the most frequently associated with PCS (80%). Using logistic regression, only 2 g cefazolin intraoperative irrigation (p=0.024) and unruptured aneurysm clipping surgery (p<0.001) were associated with early PCS. The seizure rate of unruptured aneurysm clipping surgery using 2 g cefazolin intraoperative irrigation was 32.9%. Conclusion : Intraoperative cefazolin irrigation must be avoided in patients undergoing craniotomy, especially for clipping of unruptured aneurysms, because of the increased risk of early PCS.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2010

Objective : The amount of hemorrhage observed on a brain computed tomography scan, or a patient's Fisher grade (FG), is a powerful risk factor for development of shunt dependent hydrocephlaus (SDHC). However, the influence of treatment modality (clipping versus coiling) on the rate of SDHC development has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, we compared the risk of SDHC in both treatment groups according to the amount of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 839 patients with aneurysmal SAH for a 5-year-period. Incidence of chronic SDHC was analyzed using each treatment modality according to the FG system. In addition, other well known risk factors for SDHC were also evaluated. Results : According to our data, Hunt-Hess grade, FG, acute hydrocephalus, and intraventricular hemorrhage were significant risk factors for development of chronic SDHC. Coiling group showed lower incidence of SDHC in FG 2 patients, and clipping groups revealed a significantly lower rate in FG 4 patients. Conclusion : Based on our data, treatment modality might have an influence on the incidence of SDHC. In FG 4 patients, the clipping group showed lower incidence of SDHC, and the coiling group showed lower incidence in FG 2 patients. We suggest that these findings could be a considerable factor when deciding on a treatment modality for aneurysmal SAH patients, particularly when the ruptured aneurysm can be occluded by either clipping or coiling.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2015

Objective : Patients treated with surgical clipping for anterior communicating artery (A-com) aneurysm often complain of anosmia, which can markedly impede their quality of life. We introduce a simple and useful technique to reduce postoperative olfactory dysfunction in A-com aneurysm surgery. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent surgical clipping for unruptured aneurysm from 2011-2013 by the same senior attending physician. Since March 2012, olfactory protection using gelfoam and fibrin glue was applied in A-com aneurysm surgery. Therefore we categorized patients in two groups from this time-protected group and unprotected group. Results : Of the 63 enrolled patients, 16 patients showed postoperative olfactory dysfunction-including 8 anosmia patients (protected group : unprotected group=1 : 7) and 8 hyposmia patients (protected group : unprotected group=2 : 6). Thirty five patients who received olfactory protection during surgery showed a lower rate of anosmia (p=0.037, OR 10.516, 95% CI 1.159-95.449) and olfactory dysfunction (p=0.003, OR 8.693, 95% CI 2.138-35.356). Superior direction of the aneurysm was also associated with a risk of olfactory dysfunction (p=0.015, OR 5.535, 95% CI 1.390-22.039). Conclusion : Superior direction of aneurysm appears associated with postoperative olfactory dysfunction. Olfactory protection using gelfoam and fibrin glue could be a simple, safe, and useful method to preserve olfactory function during A-com aneurysm surgery.