Neurosurgery Primary Examination Review
By Amgad Hanna, MD, FAANS
This text is not your typical question-and-answer board review book. It’s special. It takes a different approach to reviewing essential Primary Examination content while keeping the hallmark theme of questions and answers. The first section of the text is in a typical question and answer format. There are 10 subsections with each having approximately 60 useful questions for a total of 600 questions. The answers include succinct explanations, which allow for quick review. The following section contains valuable, colorful diagrams. The information in each diagram is tested within the first section, allowing for review of and testing of knowledge presented in each. The third and final section consists of helpful tables. Each table presents information formatted for repeated review and memorization. This is also tested in the first section. At first glance, the text may seem haphazardly constructed. However, to the weary examinee, this is a breath of fresh air allowing for quick but high-yield review of commonly tested topics.
Joshua Spear, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
An Anatomic Approach to Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
By Mick J. Perez-Cruet, MD, FAANS
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) is considered the future of spine surgery. Patients often request procedures that offer smaller incisions, less pain and decreased length of hospital stay, which MISS offers more readily compared to open procedures. However, this type of spine surgery requires a 3-D view of the spine. This allows an individual to “see the unseen,” when operating through small incisions. This text effectively gives the reader the knowledge to build this imaginary construct and apply it. Further, the text contains detailed anatomical information, colorful drawings and explanations that are considered the foundation on which to learn MISS. Undoubtedly, there is a steep learning curve when attempting this type of spine surgery and having this text in one’s arsenal is essential.
Joshua Spear, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Surgery of the Thoracic Spine
By Ali Baaj, MD, FAANS; U. Kumar Kakarla, MD, FAANS; Han Jo Kim, MD
This text serves a unique purpose amongst all spinal texts. By focusing on pathologies and surgical techniques related to the thoracic spine, it fills a distinct gap in the spine literature. The introduction provides an appropriate foundation of normal physiology and development, which serves to better the reader’s understanding of the presented pathology . Later in the text, it dives deep into the surgical management of thoracic trauma, infections, deformity, tumor and degenerative diseases that are commonly encountered by neurosurgeons, regardless of training level. Overall, this text facilitates the acquisition of knowledge regarding thoracic spine surgery in a logical manner. It is a welcome addition to any spine literature collection.
Joshua Spear, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Operative Cranial Neurosurgical Anatomy
By Filippo Gagliardi, MD, PhD; Cristian Gragnaniello, MD, PhD; Pietro Mortini, MD; and Anthony Caputy, MD, FAANS
Impressive in the breadth of cranial neurosurgical procedures covered, “Operative Cranial Neurosurgical Anatomy” is an important addition to any neurosurgeon’s collection, from residents in training to practicing skull base neurosurgeons. The book thoroughly covers a variety of techniques and the associated anatomy. It begins with the basic training models and the tenets of surgical exposure, positioning, incision-planning and intraoperative imaging. Then, it moves into the expansive list of cranial approaches, including both more common (i.e., pterional and frontotemporal) and less common procedures (precaruncular approach to medial orbit). It details endoscopic, transpetrosal, endonasal, transoral and transmaxillary techniques. Each chapter follows a standard outline: indications for the approach, patient positioning, skin incision, soft tissue dissection, anatomic landmarks of the craniotomy and technical variants, internal surgical anatomy and critical structures along each step. Despite the complexity of the topics covered, the text is bulleted and surprisingly easy-to-read with numerous high-quality images that feature anatomical dissections, highlighting landmarks and describing each step of the technique. It is well-organized and well-written and may become a staple textbook for neurosurgeons.
Laura Stone McGuire, MD
University of Illinois, Chicago
Skull Base Surgery: Strategies
By Walter C. Jean, MD, FAANS
Dr. Jean has organized a comprehensive and practical approach to surgical decision making in skull base surgery. It is organized as 32 chapters divided over nine sections and includes the following: anterior, anterolateral, lateral, central, clival, petrous, posterosuperior and posteroinferior skull base lesions as well as ventricular tumors. Each chapter begins with a case presentation, followed by a diagnosis and assessment section where the work-up necessary and alternative methods of treatment are discussed. Then, there is a section that focuses on the anatomy of the approach, which is richly supplemented with prosections from Rhoton and others. The author goes in-depth to the surgical approach, which is written much like an operative note and supplemented with intraoperative images and models. Each chapter concludes with the after-care of the patient, surgical pearls and complications. This makes each chapter completely comprehensive, able to stand alone, allowing for rapid review the night before a case. While few vascular lesions are included, each chapter has a case with common tumors in that location and gives all the steps that can lead to successful treatment of any lesion. This text is highly recommended for medical students interested in neurosurgery, neurosurgery residents, fellows and young attendings beginning their skull base practice.
Redi Rahmani, MD
University of Rochester
Neurosurgical Operative Atlas: Vascular Neurosurgery
By R. Loch Macdonald, MD, PhD, FAANS
“Neurosurgical Operative Atlas: Vascular Neurosurgery”, now in its third edition, is the newest in a series of focused atlases for every subspecialty in neurosurgery. It is logically organized into sections focused on aneurysms, vascular malformations and ischemic disease.
The aneurysm section begins with a general discussion of equipment, instrumentation and principles of aneurysm surgery. It closely parallels chapter one of Rhoton’s “Cranial Anatomy and Approaches”. Following this is a useful chapter titled “Aneurysm Surgery Techniques”, which is a good review of intraoperative considerations and adjuncts. Among these are discussions of rarely used techniques, such as suction-decompression and a discussion of how to manage calcifications. These techniques are now shown in operative videos in Neurosurgical Focus and in other settings, but a more detailed background in text is reassuring, especially if one is preparing for such a case.
From chapter to chapter, there are small pearls, such as the mention of catheterizing the superficial temporal artery for intraoperative angiography of carotid circulation.
The atlas has a variety of chapters, with some using an exposure-based organization and others using an aneurysm/vascular anatomy-based one. In this manner, there are several chapters that are useful in the endovascular era in preparing for less common surgical aneurysm treatments, such as ophthalmic aneurysms, mid-basilar and vertebral confluence aneurysms, extreme lateral infrajugular approach, etc. Some of these are intriguing but lacking, such as the chapter on endoscopic treatment of aneurysms. I would refer interested readers to a similar chapter in Spetzler’s “Neurovascular Surgery”.
Perhaps, the most interesting chapter in the aneurysm section, and potentially in the book, discusses the pterional approach for treatment of contralateral carotid circulation aneurysms. This chapter has excellent illustrations and clearly describes the technical aspects of this exposure.
Nowadays, the most salient of all the chapters is the microsurgical treatment of previously endovascularly-treated aneurysms. This chapter is keen to show that these examples are not just previous coil-embolization, but those that have been treated by stents or otherwise. Unfortunately, this chapter is too short, and lacks the detail and nuance of treatment after flow diversion, tips for exposure, etc.
The section on vascular malformation treatment has a broad selection of chapters reviewing AVMs, AV fistulas and cavernous malformations of the brain and spine. Several of these chapters are written by true experts and include some of the original illustrations (e.g. Dr. Daniel Barrow and the carotid cavernous fistula chapter). These chapters are a good quick review of these lesions that require very different conceptual approaches.
The last section on ischemic disease rounds out the discussion with a section on carotid endarterectomy and ischemic bypass that is similar to those in other books. Among the motley chapters in this section is an interesting one on a rare pathology – positional compression of the vertebral arteries.
Overall, this atlas is a useful addition to a young neurosurgeon’s library. It really stands out in some of the unique chapters that cover techniques that are rarely covered in other books, as pointed out above. However, it falls short of being one of my “go-to” texts in preparing for a case or a presentation. I certainly look forward to reading some of these chapters in further detail as I embark on taking on challenging aneurysms that require suction-decompression, contralateral approach and other exotic techniques.
Vishish Srinivasan, MD
Baylor College of Medicine