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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe economic consequences by local governmental measures to contain the outbreak. We provide insight on the impact that health care restriction has made on neurosurgical activity in Latin Iberoamerica., Methods: We performed an internet-based survey among presidents and members of the societies of the Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (FLANC). We blindly analyzed information regarding local conditions and their impact on neurosurgical praxis using SPSS software., Results: Information came from 21 countries. Sixteen society presidents reported having suspended regular activities and deferring local scheduled congresses, 14 reported mandatory isolation by government, and 4 instituted a telemedicine project. Four-hundred eighty-six colleagues, mean age 49 years, reported a mean 79% reduction in their neurosurgical praxis. Seventy-six percent of neurosurgeons have savings to self-support for 3-6 months if restrictions are long lasting., Conclusions: Stopping activities among societies of the FLANC, together with a drop of 79% of neurosurgical praxis, adds to deficits in provider's protection equipment and increasing demand for attention in the health care systems, representing a huge financial risk to their sustainability. Neurosurgeons should be involved in local policies to protect health and economy. Telemedicine represents an excellent solution, avoiding another pandemic of severe diseases across all-specialties as nonessential care can turn essential if left untreated. Financial support and ethics code review is needed to battle this new disease, designated the occupational disease of the decade, that continues to scrag the health care system. Times of crisis are times of great opportunities for humanity to evolve., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Contributions from Latin America to the global literature are scarce; until 2011, spine surgeons had published 320 articles in indexed journals., Methods: This systematic review evaluates the scientific production of the Mexican Association of Spine Surgeons (Asociación Mexicana de Cirujanos de Columna-AMCICO) from its inception in 1998 to 2018 with the PRISMA statement using PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. The inclusion criteria were spine-related articles in indexed journals providing any (or no) level of evidence with ≥1 AMCICO member as an author. Journal metrics, article metrics, and author variables were analyzed using SPSS version 25., Results: Of the 444 surgeons historically belonging to AMCICO, only 126 members contributed a total of 441 articles between 1998 and 2018. An average of 21.00 annual publications with an annual scientific output per capita of 0.05 was found. The most frequent evidence level was III (211 articles, 48%), the highest level was I (12 articles, 3%). The main study objective was clinical research, with 308 articles (70%), and the main study foci was trauma, with 103 articles (23%). An average impact factor of 0.16 and 0.92 was obtained for publications in Spanish and English, respectively., Conclusions: Scientific publications by AMCICO members are scarce, with a per capita annual index of 0.05 from a total of 441 articles in indexed journals. Second, the impact factor of these journals is low, with a mean value of 0.53. Further strategies should be implemented to increase the number and track the record of Mexican contributions to the scientific literature., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Intraspinal tumors are 10 to 15 times less common than brain tumors. The midline approach with extensive laminectomies represents the current gold-standard for resection, causing instability, muscle damage, and kyphosis among other well-known complications. Minimally invasive series reported their results using retractor-based systems. We analyzed a patient series treated with a non-expansile tubular approach, describing the technique, grade of resection, and clinical outcomes., Methods: A series of consecutive cases operated between 2016 and October 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. The database included age, sex, clinical presentation, intraspinal location (intra/extradural), number of laminotomies, grade of resection, surgical time, bleeding, and follow-up. The initial and follow-up clinical condition was analyzed using the Frankel scale., Results: A total of 13 patients underwent surgery: 3 intraspinal/extradural (23%), 8 intradural/extramedullary (61.5%), and 2 intramedullary tumors (15.3%); these were classified as 5 meningiomas (38.4%), 4 neurofibromas (30.7%), 2 schwannomas (15.3%), 1 hemangioblastoma (7.6%), and 1 astrocytoma (7.6%). Eleven (84.61%) patients had complete motor improvement, 1 patient had partial improvement, and 1 patient had no improvement (7.6% each). An 18-mm working channel tube was used for extramedullary lesions and 20-mm tubes for intramedullary injuries. Total tumor resection was achieved in 11 patients (84.6%) and subtotal in 2 patients (15.38%) corresponding to intramedullary tumors., Conclusions: Although this study consisted of a small series, we have shown the possibility of resecting intraspinal tumors (some intradural-intramedullary) with non-expansile tubes in a safe and effective way with no complications. Most of the patients had complete neurological improvement at the end of follow-up., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)