Overview

I am delighted to introduce this volume of Neurosurgery by Example: Key Cases and Fundamental Principles. Neurosurgical training and practice are based on managing a wide range of complex clinical cases with expert knowledge, sound judgment, and skilled technical execution. Our goal in this series is to present exemplary cases in the manner they are actually encountered in the neurosurgical clinic, hospital emergency department, and operating room. In this volume, Drs. Peter Nakaji and Michael Levitt invited a broad range of expert contributors to share their extensive wisdom and experience in all major areas of vascular neurosurgery. Each chapter contains a classic presentation of an important clinical entity, guiding readers through the assessment and planning, decision making, surgical procedure, after care, and complication management. 'Pivot points' illuminate the changes required to manage patients in alternate or atypical situations. Each chapter also presents lists of pearls for the accurate diagnosis, successful treatment, and effective complication management of each clinical problem. These three focus areas will be especially helpful to neurosurgeons preparing to sit for the American Board of Neurological Surgery oral examination, which bases scoring on these three topics. Finally, each chapter contains focused reviews of medical evidence and expected outcomes, helpful for counseling patients and setting accurate expectations. Rather than exhaustive reference lists, chapter authors provide focused lists of high priority additional reading recommended to deepen understanding. The resulting volume should provide you with a dynamic tour through the practice of vascular neurosurgery, guided by some of the leading experts in North America--