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Background Fifty-one patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) treated by anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACWF) at our institution were included in a study during a period of 10 years to evaluate neurological, anatomical, and functional outcomes including satisfaction levels. Methods We have completed a prospective evaluation of 39 patients with spondylotic myelopathy submitted to ACWF during the period of 1989-2000. The data were analyzed for age, duration of symptoms, severity of preoperative neurological deficit, and single-level or multilevel compressive status looking for possible association with prognostic surrogate data and clinical outcome that were evaluated with the Nurick score and a survey of level of satisfaction. Results Of the 51 patients, 39 fullfilled the intended follow-up being 28 men (71.8%) and 11 women (28.2%). The average age was 63.5 years. Duration of symptoms ranged from 1 to 240 months (mean, 38.1 months). The mean preoperative Nurick scale score was 2.97; the mean postoperative score was 2.1. The most frequently involved vertebral body was C5 (71.7%). The follow-up period was longer than 18 months for all patients. Postoperative nonneurological complications occurred in 8 patients (15.6%). The mortality rate was 1.9% (n = 1). Postoperative results showed improvement in 25 patients (64.1%), no change in 13 (33.3%), and worsening in 1 (2.6%). The correlation coefficient of preoperative and postoperative Nurick scores was 0.733 (R2 = 0.53). Of the 39 patients, 31 answered the questionnaire for quality of life—19 (61.2%) were very satisfied, 6 were satisfied (19.35%), and 6 were not satisfied (19.35%). Conclusion Most patients (80.6%) were very satisfied or satisfied with the outcome and would decide again for the surgery (87%) if the results were previously known. Anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion was a reliable and rewarding procedure for CSM, with functional improvement in most patients. Excellent long-term outcome results in cervical fusion can be achieved without the use of hardware instrumentation.

Background Stent-assisted coiling is an accepted endovascular treatment (EVT) for wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. The Neuroform stent (Target Therapeutics, Fremont, Calif) is a flexible nitinol self-expandable stent that was designed to potentially overcome the limitations of balloon expandable coronary stents in the intracranial circulation. The aim of this study was to reenforce the use of this stent for EVT of wide-necked cerebral aneurysms. Methods Between March 2005 and March 2008, 24 patients harboring wide-necked cerebral aneurysms were treated with stent reconstruction of the aneurysm neck. Inclusion criteria restricted the group to adult patients with wide-necked intracranial aneurysms (ruptured and unruptured lesions). Immediate postprocedure angiography studies were performed to determine successful coil occlusion of the aneurysm as well as patency of the parent vessel. We assessed the clinical history, aneurysm dimensions, and technical detail of the procedures, including any difficulties with stent placement and deployment, degree of aneurysm occlusion, and complications. Clinical outcome was assessed with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Results The stent was easily navigated and precisely positioned in 24 of 26 cases. However, technical difficulties occurred in 9 patients, including difficulties in crossing the stents interstice in 6 cases, inadvertent stent delivery (n = 1), and incapacity of stent delivery (n = 1) and incapacity of crossing the neck (n = 1). These latter 2 cases were classified as failures of the stent-assisted technique. A single procedural complication occurred, involving transient nonocclusive intrastent thrombus formation, which was treated uneventfully with abciximab. Seventeen patients experienced excellent clinical outcomes (GOS 5), with good outcomes (GOS 4) in 5 patients and a poor outcome (GOS 3) in 2 patients. There were no treatment-related deaths or neurologic complications (mean clinical follow-up, 12 months). Angiographic results consisted of 17 complete occlusions, 4 neck remnants, and 3 incomplete occlusions. Conclusions The Neuroform stent is very useful for EVT of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms because it is easy to navigate and to deploy accurately. In most cases, the stent can be deployed precisely, even in very tortuous carotid siphons. Although in some cases delivery and deployment was challenging, clinically significant complications were not observed.

Objective Treatment of subclavian artery occlusion is still a matter of controversy due to the short- and long-term complications and patency issues. We report an unusual case of combined occlusion of the proximal segment of the left subclavian artery and subclavian steal phenomenon associated with bilateral occlusion of the internal carotid arteries. Case Description A 55-year-old male patient with previous history of myocardial infarction and hypertension presented with amblyopia and recurrent dizziness, mainly at work. Doppler fluxometry and digital subtraction angiography depicted proximal left subclavian artery occlusion and subclavian steal. Internal carotid arteries were occluded at the common carotid artery bifurcation. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) were successfully performed by the left radial artery approach without complications. The patient had no recurrence of the symptoms, and the angiographic follow-up at 1 year showed good patency of the subclavian artery and normal flow through the left vertebral artery. Conclusion The planned approach for the case (PTAS) was performed without complications and evidence of restenosis in the angiography study at the completion of the first year of the treatment. The described strategy is safe and should be considered the first-choice procedure in the treatment of the subclavian occlusion.