3-D Printing Advances in Neurosurgery

3-D printing has been around for a while. Originally called “rapid prototyping”, stereolithography (SLA) was initially developed in 1980 by the Japanese. The concept never gained momentum until a few years later when American Chuck Hull invented the SLA machine, or 3D printer. This was huge for rapid prototyping of industrial products. However this never…

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Be the Ball… Hyperphantasia

In preparation for a complex neurosurgical procedure, it is very important to imagine the surgical viewpoint in order to anticipate safely approaching and treating the condition. A surgeon must foresee where related critical structures reside. It’s just like Chevy Chase’s message in Caddy Shack… “Be the ball, Danny”. For example, this is a large left…

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The Ineffectual, Inefficient, Inadequate, Insipid… Interspinous Device

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Thomas Bertram Lance’s quote from 1977 is pretty plain but very useful advice, the Interspsinous Device doesn’t follow this advice. Traditionally, the most effective treatment of lumbar stenosis (compression of the nerve roots) has been decompression with laminectomy. The early Greeks and Byzantines started performing decompressions around 300…

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How an Early Case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Could Have Prevented More Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but Ended Up Creating More…

Carpal tunnel syndrome is commonly considered an “over-use syndrome”. Repetitive activities may aggravate compression of the median nerve in the wrist by the transverse carpal ligament, manifesting as pain, tingling, numbness, and/or weakness of the hand. Chronic handwriting or computer typing can provoke the symptoms. In the 1930s after the Great Depression, Chester Carlson was…

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Jack Eichel Wants an Artificial Disc

Jack Eichel is the star center, and captain, for the Buffalo Sabres, although his career thus far has been a bit underwhelming. Drafted in 2015, he has never played in the postseason. Since he entered the NHL in 2015-2016, Buffalo has had the lowest regular-season points percentage of any NHL team. Predicted to be the…

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