Radiolucent Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Pedicle Screws for Treatment of Spinal Tumors: Advantages for Radiation Planning and Follow-Up Imaging

2016

Objective Surgical treatment of spinal tumors regularly includes spinal instrumentation with pedicle screws. Most modern pedicle screws are made of titanium alloy, which is associated with artifacts on postoperative imaging such as computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging. These artifacts hamper radiation treatment planning and execution and follow-up imaging. Recently, carbon fiber–reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFRP) implants became available for posterior instrumentation with the aim to reduce imaging artifacts by implants. Methods Patients harboring spinal tumors underwent posterior stabilization using CFRP pedicle screws. Postoperative imaging was evaluated for implant a…

NCOG-10. FACTORS INFLUENCING NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH NEUROEPITHELIAL TUMORS

2017

Though cognitive function is proven to be an independent predictor of survival in patients with intrinsic brain tumors, higher cognitive functions are still seldom studied. Aim of this study was to assess neurocognitive function and to identify risk factors for neurocognitive deficits in patients with intrinsic brain tumors. 103 patients with primary neuroepithelial tumors who received tumor resections or biopsies were included in this prospective study. The following data was acquired: mini-mental state examination, preoperative tumor volume, WHO grade, tumor entity and location, and the Karnofsky performance status scale. Furthermore, patients conducted an extensive neuropsychological tes…

In Reply to the Letter to the Editor: “Comparing the Volume of Brain Metastases in F-18-FET-PET and MRI”

2016

NCOG-03. PERSONALITY TRAITS IN PATIENTS WITH NEUROEPITHELIAL TUMORS – A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

2017

Aim of this study was to analyze personality traits in patients with neuroepithelial brain tumors. Personality alteration is a common feature in brain tumor patients, but not much is known about associations between specific personality changes and brain tumors. We assessed potential factors influencing personality such as tumor location, tumor grade and tumor volume and compared them with neuropsychological tests. 73 patients with intrinsic brain tumors were included in this prospective study. Pre- and postoperatively and 3 and 9 months after surgery, the following data were acquired: mini-mental state examination (MMSE), short form health survey (SF-36), Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BD…

Revision Rate of Misplaced Pedicle Screws of the Thoracolumbar Spine-Comparison of Three-Dimensional Fluoroscopy Navigation with Freehand Placement: …

2017

BACKGROUND Recent studies have shown higher accuracy rates of image-guided pedicle screw placement compared to freehand (FH) placement. However, data focusing on the impact of spinal navigation on the rate of revision surgeries caused by misplaced pedicle screws (PS) are scarce. OBJECTIVE This study is aimed at identifying the rate of revision surgeries for misplaced PS comparing three-dimensional (3D) fluoroscopy navigation (3DFL) with FH PS placement. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted of 2232 patients (mean age, 65.3 ± 13.5 years) with 13,703 implanted PS who underwent instrumentation of the thoracolumbar spine between 2007 and 2015. Group 1 received surgery with use of 3DFL …

Computed Tomography Findings Associated with Clinical Outcome After Dynamic Posterior Stabilization of the Lumbar Spine.

2016

Objective To evaluate whether preoperative multirow detector computed tomography (MDCT) findings were associated with clinical outcome 24 months after dynamic stabilization for painful degenerative lumbar spine disease. Methods Preoperative MDCT examinations of 63 patients (66 ± 11.7 years; 60% women) treated with a dynamic screw rod system for painful degenerative segmental instability with/without spinal stenosis were assessed for quantitative and qualitative parameters defining degenerative changes of the thoracolumbar spine, including grades of disc herniation, degenerative spondylolisthesis, vertebral body sclerosis, cross-sectional area of the spinal canal at disc level, intervertebra…

Can Early Postoperative O-(2-18FFluoroethyl)-l-Tyrosine Positron Emission Tomography After Resection of Glioblastoma Predict the Location of Later Tu…

2019

Objective Glioblastoma inevitably recurs despite aggressive therapy. Therefore, it would be helpful to predict the location of tumor recurrence from postoperative imaging to customize further treatment. O-(2-18Ffluoroethyl)- l -tyrosine (FET) positron emission tomography (PET) might be a helpful technique, because tumor tissue can be differentiated from normal brain tissue with high specificity. Methods Thirty-two consecutive patients with perioperative and follow-up imaging data available were included. On postoperative FET-PET, the tumor/normal brain (TTB) ratio around the resection cavity borders was measured. Increased TTB ratios were recorded and anatomically correlated with the site o…

PERSONALITY TRAITS IN PATIENTS WITH NEUROEPITHELIAL TUMORS - A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

2018

Abstract Aim of this study was to analyze personality traits in patients with neuroepithelial brain tumors. Personality alteration is a common feature in brain tumor patients, but not much is known about associations between specific personality changes and brain tumors. We assessed potential factors influencing personality such as tumor location, tumor grade and tumor volume. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Beck’s Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) for the five factors of personality were acquired. Patients had lower scores regarding the factor openness and higher scores regarding the BDI-II compared to the norm population. No significant in…