'Groans less, seems more comfortable:' Harvey Cushing's redefinition of success in the operative treatment of pediatric intracranial lesions.

摘要

BACKGROUND: Challenges to diagnosing and localizing intracranial lesions in pediatric patients were immense during the advent of neurosurgery. For patients with suspected intracranial tumors, but with negative findings on operation, there were few options. The role of palliative surgical interventions, from decompressive craniectomies to lumbar and ventricular punctures, is not well-represented in the literature during this early stage. OBJECTIVE: To review Harvey Cushing's original surgical files and analyze his use of decompressive procedures in pediatric patients with suspected intracranial tumors, with negative findings during operative interventions. METHODS: Following IRB approval, and through the courtesy of the Alan Mason Chesney Archives, we reviewed the Johns Hopkins Hospital surgical files from 1896 to 1912. Patients,