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Background Surgical approaches to the third ventricle (TV) have always represented a technical challenge in neurosurgery. Virtual reality (VR) is attaining increasing relevance in training programs and preoperative planning. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the worthwhile mutual contribution of VR simulations and specimen dissections to develop a new surgical approach to the TV. Methods The transcortical endoportal subchoroidal endoscope-assisted (TEPSEA) approach was planned and simulated thanks to VR (Surgical Theater©, LLC, Cleveland, Ohio), and then implemented on cadaver specimens by using the VBAS portal system (Viewsite™ Brain Access System TC Model, Vycor Medical™ Inc). We assessed anthropometric measurements during VR planning and evaluated surgical operability during anatomical dissections. Results Surgical field depths measured between 75.6 and 85.3 mm to mammillary bodies and habenular commissure, which were in mean 20.2 mm away. An 18-mm movement was estimated for 15°-posterior tilting of a 70-mm long VBAS. Excellent exposure and maneuverability were achieved within the TV through a 2.47 cm2 portal working area. The 30°-endoscope assistance expanded the access towards the anterior and posterior walls of the TV particularly to the infundibular recess, mammillary bodies, habenular commissure and pineal recess. Conclusions We documented the utility of a step-by-step VR planning and simulation followed by anatomical dissections to study surgical approaches to deep brain areas. The TEPSEA exploits the portal system and endoscopic assistance to access the entire TV minimizing cortical and white matter manipulation.

Context Osteopathy and morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) are emerging complications in acromegaly. However, the prediction of VFs in this clinical setting is still a matter of uncertainty, and it is debated whether they are an early event in the natural history of the disease. Objective We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of morphometric VFs in patients with recently diagnosed acromegaly. Methods We enrolled 92 patients (43 men/49 women) on admission to the neurosurgery unit before transsphenoidal surgery, and compared them with control individuals without secondary forms of osteoporosis and pituitary disorders. We performed a VF assessment on preoperative chest x-ray images and collected biochemical, demographic, and clinical data. Results We detected a significantly higher prevalence of VFs (33.7%) in patients with acromegaly than in controls (P = .001). Among the patients with acromegaly and VFs, 12 (38.7%) showed multiple VFs, and 5 (16.1%) showed moderate/severe VFs. Patients with VFs had higher random serum growth hormone (GH) levels than those with no VFs (P = .03), but there was no difference in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) (P = .07) and IGF-1/Upper Normal Limit ratio (P = .08). Free 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine was slightly lower in patients with acromegaly and VFs than in those without VFs (P = .05). In multiple logistic analysis, GH was independently associated with risk for VFs (P = .003). The preoperative serum GH cutoff value that predicted VFs was 12 ng/mL. Conclusion For the first time, high prevalence of radiological VFs is reported in patients with recent diagnosis of acromegaly. Therefore, we can hypothesize that VFs are an early phenomenon of acromegaly and related to GH levels. VF assessment should be included in the workup at the diagnosis of acromegaly.

Since the end of the nineteenth century, the wide dissemination of Pott's disease has ignited debates about which should be the ideal route to perform ventrolateral decompression of the dorsal spine in case of paraplegia due to spinal cord compression in tuberculosis spondylitis. It was immediately clear that the optimal approach should be the one minimizing the surgical manipulation on both neural and extraneural structures while optimizing the exposure and surgical maneuverability on the target area. The first attempt was reported by Victor Auguste Menard in 1894, who described, for the first time, a completely different route from traditional laminectomy, called costotransversectomy. The technique was conceived to drain tubercular paravertebral abscesses causing paraplegia without manipulating the spinal cord. Over the following decades, many other routes have been described all over the world, thus demonstrating the wide interest on the topic. Surgical development has been marked by the new technical achievements and by instrumental/technological advancements, until the advent of portal surgery and endoscopy-assisted techniques. In this article, the authors retraced the milestones of this history up to the present days, through a systematic review on the topic.

Purpose: Cancer stem cells (CSC) have been isolated from human tumors, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The aims of this study were the immunobiological characterization of GBM CSCs and the assessment of whether these cells represent suitable targets for immunotherapy.Experimental Design: GBM CSC lines and their fetal bovine serum (FBS)–cultured non-CSC pair lines were generated and examined by flow cytometry for expression of known tumor antigens, MHC-I and MHC-II molecules, antigen-processing machinery components, and NKG2D ligands. In addition, immunogenicity and immunosuppression of such cell lines for autologous or allogeneic T lymphocytes were tested by cytokine secretion (ELISPOT) or proliferation (carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester) assays, respectively.Results: Both GBM CSC and FBS lines were weakly positive and negative for MHC-I, MHC-II, and NKG2D ligand molecules, respectively. Antigen-processing machinery molecules were also defective in both cell types. Upregulation of most molecules was induced by IFNs or 5-Aza deoxycytidine, although more efficiently in FBS than in CSCs. Patient T-cell responses, mediated by both TH1 and the TH2 subsets, against autologous CSC could be induced in vitro. In addition, CSC but not their paired FBS tumor lines inhibited T-cell proliferation of healthy donors. Notably, a differential gene signature that was confirmed at the protein levels for some immunologic-related molecules was also found between CSC and FBS lines.Conclusions: These results indicate lower immunogenicity and higher suppressive activity of GBM CSC compared with FBS lines. The immunogenicity, however, could be rescued by immune modulation leading to anti-GBM T cell–mediated immune response. Clin Cancer Res; 16(3); 800–13

Supplementary Data from Immunobiological Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells Isolated from Glioblastoma Patients

Context Nationwide data on children diagnosed with craniopharyngioma (CP) are not available in Italy. Objective This work aimed to identify patients’ characteristics, type of surgical approach, complications and recurrences, number of pituitary deficits, and number of patients starting growth hormone (GH) treatment. Methods A retrospective multicenter collection took place of 145 patients aged 0 to 18 years who underwent surgery for CP between 2000 and 2018, and followed up in 17 Italian centers of pediatric endocrinology. Results Age at diagnosis was 8.4 ± 4.1 years. Duration of symptoms was 10.8 ± 12.5 months and headache was most frequent (54%), followed by impaired growth (48%) and visual disturbances (44%). Most lesions were suprasellar (85%), and histology was adamantinomatous in all cases but two. Surgical approach was transcranial (TC) in 67.5% of cases and transsphenoidal (TS) in 31.%. The TC approach was prevalent in all age groups. Postsurgery complications occurred in 53% of cases, with water-electrolyte disturbances most frequent. Radiotherapy was used in 39% of cases. All patients but one presented with at least one hormone pituitary deficiency, with thyrotropin deficiency most frequent (98.3%), followed by adrenocorticotropin (96.8%), arginine vasopressin (91.1%), and GH (77.4%). Body mass index (BMI) significantly increased over time. A hypothalamic disturbance was present in 55% of cases. GH therapy was started during follow-up in 112 patients at a mean age of 10.6 years, and 54 developed a recurrence or regrowth of the residual lesion. Conclusion CP is often diagnosed late in Italy, with TC more frequent than the TS surgical approach. Postsurgery complications were not rare, and hypopituitarism developed almost in all cases. BMI shows a tendency to increase overtime.

Background Intraforaminal lumbar disk herniations (IFDHs) represent a heterogeneous and relatively uncommon disease; their treatment is technically demanding due to the anatomical relationships with nerve roots and vertebral joints. Over time, several approaches have been developed without reaching a consensus about the best treatment strategy. Materials and methods Authors comparatively analyze surgical operability and exposure in terms of quantitative variables between the different microsurgical approaches to IFDHs, defining the impact of each approach on surgical maneuverability and exposure on specific targets.A comparative microanatomical laboratory investigation was conducted. The operability score (OS) was applied for quantitative analysis of surgical operability. Results Transarticular and combined translaminar-trans-pars-interarticularis approaches result in providing the best surgical exposure and maneuverability on all targets with surgical controls on both nerve roots, at the expense of a higher risk of iatrogenic instability. Trans-pars-interarticularis approach reaches comparable levels of operability, even limited to the pure foraminal area (lateral compartment); similar findings were recorded for partial facetectomy on the medial compartment. The contralateral interlaminar approach provides good visualization of the foramen without consensual favorable maneuverability, which should be considered the main drawback. Conclusions Approach selection has to consider disease location, the possible migration of disk fragments, the degree of nerve root involvement, and risk of iatrogenic instability. According to the findings, authors propose an operative algorithm to tailor the surgical strategy, based both on the precise definition of anatomic boundaries of exposure of each approach and on surgical maneuverability on specific targets.

Funder: Wellcome Trust, PurposeSurgical workflow analysis seeks to systematically break down operations into hierarchal components. It facilitates education, training, and understanding of surgical variations. There are known educational demands and variations in surgical practice in endoscopic transsphenoidal approaches to pituitary adenomas. Through an iterative consensus process, we generated a surgical workflow reflective of contemporary surgical practice.MethodsA mixed-methods consensus process composed of a literature review and iterative Delphi surveys was carried out within the Pituitary Society. Each round of the survey was repeated until data saturation and > 90% consensus was reached.ResultsThere was a 100% response rate and no attrition across both Delphi rounds. Eighteen international expert panel members participated. An extensive workflow of 4 phases (nasal, sphenoid, sellar and closure) and 40 steps, with associated technical errors and adverse events, were agreed upon by 100% of panel members across rounds. Both core and case-specific or surgeon-specific variations in operative steps were captured.ConclusionsThrough an international expert panel consensus, a workflow for the performance of endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection has been generated. This workflow captures a wide range of contemporary operative practice. The agreed "core" steps will serve as a foundation for education, training, assessment and technological development (e.g. models and simulators). The "optional" steps highlight areas of heterogeneity of practice that will benefit from further research (e.g. methods of skull base repair). Further adjustments could be made to increase applicability around the world.

Early brain injury and cerebral vasospasm during the 14 days after the subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are considered the main causes of poor outcome. The primary injury induces a cascade of events, including increased intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral vasospasm and ischemia, glutamate excitotoxicity, and neuronal cell death. The objective of this study was to monitor the time course of glutamate, aspartate, and glutamate-associated enzymes such as glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT1), glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum, during the first weeks after SAH, and to assess their prognostic value. A total of 74 participants participated in this study: 45 participants with SAH and 29 controls. Serum and CSF were sampled up to 14 days after SAH. The clinical and neurological status of SAH participants were assessed at hospitalization, at discharge from the hospital, and 3 months after SAH.Our results demonstrated that serum and CSF glutamate levels were consistently elevated after SAH. Furthermore, high serum glutamate levels displayed a positive correlation with the worst neurological status at admission, and with the cerebral ischemia and poor neurological outcome. CSF GOT1 was elevated in SAH participants and positively correlated with intracranial hypertension, with cerebral ischemia and poor neurological outcome post-SAH.

Task-based functional MRI (tb-fMRI) represents an extremely valuable approach for the identification of language eloquent regions for presurgical mapping in patients with brain tumors. However, its routinely application is limited by patient-related factors, such as cognitive disability and difficulty in coping with long-time acquisitions, and by technical factors, such as lack of equipment availability for stimuli delivery. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) instead, allows the identification of distinct language networks in a 10-min acquisition without the need of performing active tasks and using specific equipment. Therefore, to test the feasibility of rs-fMRI as a preoperative mapping tool, we reconstructed a lexico-semantic intrinsic connectivity network (ICN) in healthy controls (HC) and in a case series of patients with gliomas and compared the organization of this language network with the one derived from tb-fMRI in the patient's group. We studied three patients with extra-frontal gliomas who underwent functional mapping with auditory verb-generation (AVG) task and rs-fMRI with a seed in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). First, we identified the functional connected areas to the IFG in HC. We qualitatively compared these areas with those that showed functional activation in AVG task derived from Neurosynth meta-analysis. Last, in each patient we performed single-subject analyses both for rs- and tb-fMRI, and we evaluated the spatial overlap between the two approaches. In HC, the IFG-ICN network showed a predominant left fronto-temporal functional connectivity in regions overlapping with the AVG network derived from a meta-analysis. In two patients, rs- and tb-fMRI showed comparable patterns of activation in left fronto-temporal regions, with different levels of contralateral activations. The third patient could not accomplish the AVG task and thus it was not possible to make any comparison with the ICN. However, in this patient, task-free approach disclosed a consistent network of fronto-temporal regions as in HC, and additional parietal regions. Our preliminary findings support the value of rs-fMRI approach for presurgical mapping, particularly for identifying left fronto-temporal core language-related areas in glioma patients. In a preoperative setting, rs-fMRI approach could represent a powerful tool for the identification of eloquent language areas, especially in patients with language or cognitive impairments.

Objective The present study aimed to perform a comprehensive data analysis of 47 consecutive patients treated in 8 years and to observe how clinical, radiologic, and surgical factors affect early and long-term outcomes, recurrence rate, and survival. Methods Clinical, radiologic, and surgical data were collected retrospectively from the review of a prospectively collected database. The neurologic disability was evaluated according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Radiologic data were obtained by direct measurement performed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis was performed. Results From 2008 to 2016, 47 consecutive patients underwent microsurgical resection of intramedullary lesions (28 males and 19 females; mean age, 41.2 years). Ependymoma (53.2%), astrocytoma (14.9%), hemangioblastoma (14.9%), and cavernous angioma (6.4%) were the most frequent tumor histology. The mean follow-up duration was 69.3 months. Gross total tumor resection was performed in 80.8% of cases. Forty-two patients (89.4%) were alive at last follow-up. Five-year overall survival and recurrence-free survival were 92% and 82%, respectively. Conclusions Among the examined variables, age seemed to strongly correlate with outcomes; better chances of recovery and a good postoperative outcome were observed in younger patients. Surfacing lesions had a better early functional outcome than did intramedullary located lesions. Patients' preoperative neurologic and functional status (mRS score ≤2) had a significant impact on late neurologic outcome. Progression-free survival correlated with the extent of tumor resection. Surgery should probably be performed before patients' neurologic decline, aiming to achieve maximal resection without compromising patients' quality of life.

Background Pathologies of the ventral thoracic spine represent a challenge, igniting arguments about which should be the ideal surgical approach to access this area. Anterior transthoracic thoracotomy and a number of posterolateral routes have been developed. Among the latter, costotransversectomy has demonstrated to provide good ventral exposure with a lower, but not negligible, morbidity. The optimal approach should be the one minimizing surgical morbidity on both neural and extraneural structures while optimizing exposure. Methods The authors described the combined, rib-sparing, bilateral approach (CRBA) to the ventral mid/low-thoracic spine. The technique combines a transfacet pedicle partially sparing approach on one side and a transpedicular with transverse process resection on the contralateral one. A laboratory investigation was conducted. The technique was applied in a surgical setting, and a case was reported. Results CRBA is rib-sparing, completely extracavitary, and does not require pleural exposure and paraspinal muscle splitting, thus minimizing potential morbidity. The combination of 2 corridors ensures the greatest exposure compared with standard posterolateral approaches. The only blind corner is limited to a small area just in front of the dural sac. A bimanual approach optimizes control during surgical manipulation, even if the area of maneuverability and cross-section areas of surgical corridors are slightly limited compared to traditional costotransversectomy due to the minimally invasive nature of the procedure. Conclusions CRBA represents a safe and effective option to access the ventral mid/low thoracic spine. It provides great exposure and bimanual manipulation of the surgical target, minimizes potential morbidity, and avoids entrance into the thoracic cavity and paraspinal muscle splitting.

Gli adenomi ipofisari rappresentano un problema clinico di frequente presentazione nella pratica endocrinologica. Nella maggior parte dei casi si comportano come lesioni a bassa velocita di crescita, non invasive, con buona risposta alla terapia convenzionale e scarsa tendenza alla recidiva. Una quota di tali adenomi esibiscono pero un comportamento aggressivo e rappresentano una sfida nella pratica clinica quotidiana. Numerosi tentativi di classificazione sono stati effettuati nel tempo con lo scopo di semplificare l’approccio al paziente con adenoma ipofisario e permettere una corretta stratificazione e un piu precoce inquadramento delle lesioni. Scopo della Rassegna e quello di rivedere le principali innovazioni introdotte negli anni circa la definizione dell’adenoma ipofisario aggressivo, riprendendo le proposte di differenti gruppi associativi e soffermandosi sulle linee guida della WHO del 2017 e della European Society of Endocrinology del 2018, evidenziando quelli che, a nostro avviso, sono i potenziali vantaggi apportati da tali classificazioni e gli eventuali limiti applicativi individuabili.

There is various evidence to suggest a relationship between female hormones and meningiomas; as clinicians, we often come to face challenging situations involving female patients diagnosed with meningiomas during the post-pubertal phases of their life. We aimed to review the specific circumstances (pregnancy, postpartum, hormonal contraception and hormone replacement therapy, gender-affirming hormonal treatment) clinicians might come to face during their daily clinical practice, given the absence of available guidelines. We therefore conducted a narrative review on articles found in PubMed and Embase databases using appropriate keywords. Ninety-six relevant articles were included. The available evidence on managing meningiomas in post-pubertal women often implies personal strategies, highlighting the lack of a unified approach. The knowledge of the biological links between female hormones and meningiomas is fundamental to correctly counsel patients in various life phases. Prospective randomized studies are required to improve available guidelines on how to best manage meningiomas in female post-pubertal patients.

The aim of this work was to extend the VERDICT-MRI framework for modelling brain tumours, enabling comprehensive characterisation of both intra- and peritumoural areas with a particular focus on cellular and vascular features. Diffusion MRI data were acquired with multiple b-values (ranging from 50 to 3500 s/mm2), diffusion times, and echo times in 21 patients with brain tumours of different types and with a wide range of cellular and vascular features. We fitted a selection of diffusion models that resulted from the combination of different types of intracellular, extracellular, and vascular compartments to the signal. We compared the models using criteria for parsimony while aiming at good characterisation of all of the key histological brain tumour components. Finally, we evaluated the parameters of the best-performing model in the differentiation of tumour histotypes, using ADC (Apparent Diffusion Coefficient) as a clinical standard reference, and compared them to histopathology and relevant perfusion MRI metrics. The best-performing model for VERDICT in brain tumours was a three-compartment model accounting for anisotropically hindered and isotropically restricted diffusion and isotropic pseudo-diffusion. VERDICT metrics were compatible with the histological appearance of low-grade gliomas and metastases and reflected differences found by histopathology between multiple biopsy samples within tumours. The comparison between histotypes showed that both the intracellular and vascular fractions tended to be higher in tumours with high cellularity (glioblastoma and metastasis), and quantitative analysis showed a trend toward higher values of the intracellular fraction (fic) within the tumour core with increasing glioma grade. We also observed a trend towards a higher free water fraction in vasogenic oedemas around metastases compared to infiltrative oedemas around glioblastomas and WHO 3 gliomas as well as the periphery of low-grade gliomas. In conclusion, we developed and evaluated a multi-compartment diffusion MRI model for brain tumours based on the VERDICT framework, which showed agreement between non-invasive microstructural estimates and histology and encouraging trends for the differentiation of tumour types and sub-regions.

Reliable biomarkers are needed to avoid diagnostic delay and its devastating effects in patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (PCNSL). We analysed the discriminating sensitivity and specificity of myeloid differentiation primary response (88) (MYD88) L265P mutation (mut-MYD88) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of both patients with newly diagnosed (n=36) and relapsed (n=27) PCNSL and 162 controls (118 CNS disorders and 44 extra-CNS lymphomas). The concordance of MYD88 mutational status between tumour tissue and CSF sample and the source of ILs in PCNSL tissues were also investigated. Mut-MYD88 was assessed by TaqMan-based polymerase chain reaction. IL-6 and IL-10 messenger RNA (mRNA) was assessed on PCNSL biopsies using RNAscope technology. IL levels in CSF were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Mut-MYD88 was detected in 15/17 (88%) PCNSL biopsies, with an 82% concordance in paired tissue-CSF samples. IL-10 mRNA was detected in lymphomatous B cells in most PCNSL; expression of IL-6 transcripts was negligible. In CSF samples, mut-MYD88 and high IL-10 levels were detected, respectively, in 72% and 88% of patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL and in 1% of controls; conversely, IL-6 showed a low discriminating sensitivity and specificity. Combined analysis of MYD88 and IL-10 exhibits a sensitivity and specificity to distinguish PCNSL of 94% and 98% respectively. Similar figures were recorded in patients with relapsed PCNSL. In conclusion, high detection rates of mut-MYD88 and IL-10 in CSF reflect, respectively, the MYD88 mutational status and synthesis of this IL in PCNSL tissue. These biomarkers exhibit a very high sensitivity and specificity in detecting PCNSL both at initial diagnosis and relapse. Implications of these findings in patients with lesions unsuitable for biopsy deserve to be investigated.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is the most frequent craniofacial pain condition, which commonly affects patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS). Stereotactic radiosurgery, especially Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS), represents a safe and effective treatment for TN, and it has been adopted also for MS-TN, with a lower success rate. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the outcome of GKRS for MS-TN. PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar and the reference list of relevant articles were searched for GKRS in MS-TN. Two investigators independently identified the articles, assessed the study quality, and extracted the data. Endpoints of interest were initial pain responders, successful treatments at the end of follow-up, and factors influencing the outcome. Data analyses were performed using R software. Twelve articles involving 646 patients met our inclusion criteria. Pooled proportion of patients who experienced an initial response to GKRS treatment was 83% (CI 74-90%). The cumulative proportion of successful treatments at the end of follow-up was 47% (CI 33-60%). No variables were found to have a significant contribution to heterogeneity regarding the initial response outcome. The only variable significantly explaining the heterogeneity found in the proportion of successful treatments was the length of the follow-up, with a negative b coefficient (- 0.0051, p value = 0.0047). Regarding the efficacy of GKRS in MS-TN, the initial pain response rate was 83%, which dramatically decreases to 47% during follow-up. GKRS still represents a valuable option for MS-TN; however, its long-term efficacy should be always considered.

Purpose: Nelson’s syndrome (NS) is a long-term complication of bilateral adrenalectomy in patients with Cushing’s disease. The best therapeutic strategy in NS has not been well defined. Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is very effective to stop the growth of the pituitary adenoma, which is the main goal of the treatment of patients with NS. We report the largest series of patients with NS treated by GKRS at a single center. Methods: The study was an observational, retrospective analysis of 28 consecutive patients with NS treated by GKRS in our department between 1995 and 2019. All patients had a growing ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma. The main outcome of the study was to assess by the Kaplan–Meier method the risk of tumor progression after GKRS. Results: The median follow-up after GKRS treatment was 98months (IQR 61–155months, range 7–250months). Two patients (7.1%) had a recurrence of disease during follow-up. The 10-year progression-free survival was 91.7% (95% CI 80.5–100%). No patient had deterioration of visual function or oculomotor function after GKRS. New onset of hypogonadism and hypothyroidism occurred in 18.8% and 14.3% of the patients at risk. Conclusion: Our study confirms that GKRS may stop the tumor growth in the majority of patients with NS, even though very aggressive adenomas may ultimately escape this treatment. Safety of GKRS was good in our experience, but due attention must be paid to planning the distribution of radiation to critical structures, especially in patients previously treated by radiation.

With most global healthcare resources focused on COVID-19, altered resource allocation is disrupting the continuum of care for chronic endocrine conditions, including acromegaly. In order to assess the effects of COVID-19 on care of patients with acromegaly, we conducted an international online survey of endocrinologists. The questionnaire was drafted by a Steering Committee of acromegaly experts and covered both respondent demographics, contact and communication with patients, and patient care. Respondent awareness was generated through social media campaigns and the survey completed online using Google forms. The majority of endocrinologists who responded (N = 84) were based in Europe (67.9%) and were female (58.3%). Slightly more than half of respondents worked in a specialized pituitary center (52.4%) and a large minority cared for more than 50 acromegaly patients (47.6%). Most respondents (85.7%) indicated surgery was their first-line treatment, with only 14.3% indicating medical therapy as a first-choice treatment option. One-third (33.3%) of respondents reported having delayed a planned surgery due to a lack of COVID-19 testing provision and 54.8% due to a lack of surgical provision; 19.1% indicated that a lack of personal protective equipment had reduced their ability to treat patients with acromegaly. Just 21.4% of respondents reported no negative effects from the pandemic on diagnostic practice patterns, and just 19.1% reported no negative effect on patient follow-up practices. Many respondents (55.9%) indicated that remote methods had improved their ability to communicate with their patients and 69.0% indicated that they would continue to use methods of consultation necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data suggest the COVID-19 pandemic is substantially affecting the care of acromegaly. However, these results also suggest that endocrinologists are embracing aspects of the ‘new normal’ to create a novel continuum of care better suited to the presumed post-COVID-19 environment. The goal of these changes must be both to improve care while shielding patients from more severe involvement in concomitant acute illnesses such COVID-19.

Late-onset, extracranial soft tissues dehiscence in the spheno-temporal region after major neurosurgical procedures might represent a potentially life-threatening complication.Due to surgery-related galeal/pericranial and myofascial temporal atrophy, classical regional flaps are often unavailable, enforcing potential indication for free vascularized flaps.Nevertheless, in elderly multioperated patients, who are not eligible for major surgery, it becomes mandatory to consider less invasive options for reconstruction.Authors describe the application of a reconstructive option for late-onset, pterional soft tissues dehiscence in fragile patients, using a local pterional advancement flap.Technique is stepwise described and illustrated in its clinical application.Local pterional advancement flap provides an excellent coverage, being extremely pliable, and flexible in contents and design. Vascular pedicle is independent from distal branches of the superficial temporal artery and provides adequate blood flow. Pedicle length enables a good arc of rotation, which facilitates its transposition. Flap preparation is very easy and minimally time consuming, due to its immediate regional availability and the easy harvesting technique.Local pterional advancement flap represents an effective option as regional flap for the reconstruction of late-onset, pterional soft tissues dehiscence in fragile patients.

Inadequate temporal muscle (TM) reconstruction after surgery may hesitate in potentially severe functional and aesthetic sequelae, making it of paramount importance to carefully consider TM reconstruction even in case of small deformities.The authors describe the combined temporal muscle augmentation technique (CTMA), an innovative technique for TM augmentation for muscle reconstruction in case of small to medium substance loss.A cadaver study was conducted as preclinical validation of the technique for the assessment of CTMA coverage capability. CTMA consists in a combination of 2 techniques for muscle surface coverage (MSC) increase: the radial (RA) and the longitudinal augmentation (LA), which enables to harvest a radial (RF) and a longitudinal flap (LF), respectively.Each flap derives from a different muscle-bundle, spearing TM segmentation and functional performance, and are supplied by a specific neuro-vascular peduncle, which makes flaps functionally independent.A surgical case is reported to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique.Combined temporal muscle augmentation technique provides an overall coverage surface of 6.5 ± 0.6 cm, which corresponds to a gap distance of 2.5 ± 0.2 cm, with RF providing a statistically significant larger surface of coverage compared to LF (×2.1; P = 0.0001).Combined temporal muscle augmentation technique is easy and fast to perform displaying a good reconstructive capability with complete preservation of temporal muscle anatomic compartmentalization and segmental vasculature. It might be considered as a safe and effective alternative in the reconstruction of small-to medium TM defects.

Background: Thoracic disc herniation (TDH) is a rare condition with severe neurological sequelae. Surgical management is still a matter of debate and challenging. Method: We present a modification of the transdural approach for TDH. The approach has been described in a stepwise fashion, analysing pre-, peri-, and postoperative strategies to improve patients’ management and reduce approach-related morbidity. Conclusion: The modified posterior transdural approach represents an effective technique for TDH, minimizing the risk of spinal cord damages, which can dramatically affect the outcome.