Neuro Detour

Vascular Surgery
Week 4

This week I took a detour from vascular surgery to watch a couple of neurological surgery cases. One really interesting case was the removal of a pituitary tumor.

Removal of Pituitary Tumor
Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery

http://www.skullbaseinstitute.com/video_pituitary_tumor.htm

There is a great video of the procedure at the link above. A few stills are shown below:

The endoscope is inserted through the nostril and navigated to the brain.

The dura (covering of the brain) is incised.

The tumor is gradually removed.

Source: http://www.skullbaseinstitute.com/video_pituitary_tumor.htm

Research Project

I’ve also been working on my research project regarding the outcomes of vascular procedures in women. Some of the demographics of the telephone interviews I have been conducting are shown below:

This chart shows the proportions of women I have contacted that are on or have had hormone replacement therapy (HRT), have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, take osteoporosis supplements, and who take calcium or vitamin supplements (total does not equal 100%). I’m still working on the data analysis regarding the outcomes of procedures and hope to have results soon!