Main description:

There are two important reasons for publishing this new series entitled "Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery": 1. the lack of any or ganized common European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons and 2. the language barriers, which impede the exchange of neurosurgical findings in Europe more than in other parts of the world. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore the Editors have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publi cation of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their postgraduate train ing. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons.

Contents:

A. Advances.- Surgical Problems of Pituitary Adenomas..- I. General Principles.- II. Non Functioning and Secreting Adenomas.- III. Statistics.- Summary.- References.- The Management of Intracranial Arterial Aneurysms in the Acute Stage..- Primary and Medical Care.- Angiography.- Vasospasm.- Surgery.- Final Comments.- References.- Extra-Intracranial Arterial Anastomosis: Clinical and Technical Aspects. Results..- Preoperative Evaluation.- Clinical Presentation.- Evaluation of the Patients.- Indications and Contraindications.- Operation.- Preoperative Care.- Anesthesia.- Operative Technique and Instruments.- Postoperative Care.- Case Reports.- Results.- Intraoperative Intraarterial Pressure Measurement.- Discussion.- Conclusion.- References.- B. Technical Standards.- The Operative Approach to the Posterior Fossa..- Anaesthesia.- Preparation.- Some General Points on Surgical Technique.- 1. The Control of Intracranial Pressure.- 2. The Control of Cerebral Venous Pressure.- Specific Surgical Techniques.- Position of the Patient.- Surgical Technique.- 1. The Bilateral Approach.- 2. The Unilateral Approach.- 3. The Torkildsen Ventriculo-Cisternostomy.- Head Rests.- The Choice of Technique of Operation in Posterior Fossa Lesions.- References.- Neurosurgical Approaches to Orbital Tumours..- General Rules in Orbital Surgery.- Temporal Orbitotomy.- Generalities.- Position of the Patient.- Skin Incision.- Tilting Back of the Temporal Muscle.- Trepanation of the Orbit.- Exploration of the Orbital Cavity.- Transcranial Orbitotomy.- Skin Incision.- Frontal Bone Flap.- Fronto-Orbital Bone Flap.- Trepanation of the Orbit.- Exploration of the Orbital Cavity.- Repair of the Orbital Roof.- Conclusions.- References.- Methods of Percutaneous Spino-Thalamic Tract Section..- Anatomical and Neurophysiological Remarks.- Technique and Methods.- Approaches for Percutaneous Cervical Cordotomy.- Instruments.- Insertion of the Needle and Electrode Into the Spinal Cord.- Ventral Approach.- Lateral Approach.- Dorsal Approach.- Checking the Position of the Electrode.- Bony Landmarks of the Target Points.- Visualization of Spinal Canal.- Impedance Measurement.- Stimulation.- Evoked Potentials.- Section of the Spino-Thalamic Tract.- Indications.- Results.- Complications.- Bilateral Cordotomy.- Postoperative Treatment.- Late Results.- Open or Percutaneous Cordotomy.- Summary.- References.- Author Index.