Hans Delye

Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) · Neurosurgery

Background: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the longitudinal three-dimensional (3D) cranial shape developments and the secondary treatment aspects after endoscopically assisted craniosynostosis surgery (EACS) with helmet therapy and open cranial vault reconstruction (OCVR) for scaphocephaly. Methods: Longitudinally collected 3D photos fr...

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the biomechanics of endoscopically assisted strip craniectomy treatment for the management of sagittal craniosynostosis while undergoing three different durations of postoperative helmet therapy using a computational approach. Methods A previously developed 3D model of a 4-month-old sagittal cranios...

Virtual surgical planning of an open cranial vault reconstruction enables a faster, safer and better surgical procedure for craniosynostosis patients. However, transfer a virtual surgical plan to the patient remains challenging. Although 3D-printed surgical guides can be used, their production is rather time-consuming and expensive. Since augmented...

Background European Reference Networks (ERNs) are networks involving hospitals with particular expertise in rare conditions. ERN-CRANIO focusses on rare disorders of the skull and face, including craniosynostosis. Methods We undertook a pilot study in the form of an electronic survey to understand current practice in craniosynostosis management ac...

Craniosynostosis is a premature fusion of cranial sutures, and it requires surgery to decrease cranial pressure and remodel the affected areas. However, mastering these procedures requires years of supervised training. Several neurosurgical training simulators have been created to shorten the learning curve. Laboratory training is fundamental for a...

Craniosynostosis is a condition in which cranial sutures fuse prematurely, causing problems in normal brain and skull growth in infants. To limit the extent of cosmetic and functional problems, swift diagnosis is needed. The goal of this study is to investigate if a deep learning algorithm is capable of correctly classifying the head shape of infan...

Background The surgeons’ estimate of the extent of resection (EOR) shows little accuracy in previous literature. Considering the developments in surgical techniques of glioblastoma (GBM) treatment, we hypothesize an improvement in this estimation. This study aims to compare the EOR estimated by the neurosurgeon with the EOR determined using volumet...

Purpose Posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation in preterm infants is primarily treated using temporising measures, of which the placement of a ventricular access device (VAD) is one option. Permanent shunt dependency rates are high, though vary widely. In order to improve the treatment burden and lower shunt dependency rates, we implemented severa...

Insight into the growth and development of the normal newborn cranial shape is essential to monitor cranial development, to detect and diagnose abnormal skull shapes, and for the long-term follow-up of craniosynostosis surgery. The aim of this study was to analyse the growth pattern of the cranial shape of infants during the first years of life usi...

Craniosynostosis is defined by the premature closure of one or more cranial sutures, causing typical deviant head shapes depending on the affected suture. Prevalence is approximately 3.6–6.4 in 10,000 live births, which is reportedly rising. Cornelissen et al. recently showed that the prevalence of craniosynostosis in the Netherlands has risen to 7...

The implementation of augmented reality (AR) in image-guided surgery (IGS) can improve surgical interventions by presenting the image data directly on the patient at the correct position and in the actual orientation. This approach can resolve the switching focus problem, which occurs in conventional IGS systems when the surgeon has to look away fr...

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate pre‐, intra‐, and postoperative anesthetic parameters in endoscopic strip craniectomy in order to improve anesthesiological care. Materials and Methods This is a retrospective patient cohort study of our first 121 patients treated by endoscopic strip craniectomy. Preoperative as well as intra‐ and po...

Background Surgical methods to treat craniosynostosis have evolved from a simple strip craniectomy to a diverse spectrum of partial or complete cranial vault remodeling with excellent results but often with high comorbidity. Therefore, minimal invasive craniosynostosis surgery has been explored in the last few decades. The main goal of minimal inva...

Virtual planning of open cranial vault reconstruction is used to simulate and define an pre-operative plan for craniosynostosis surgery. However, virtual planning techniques are subjective and dependent on the experience and preferences of the surgical team. To develop an objective automated 3D pre-operative planning technique for open cranial vaul...

Object Despite many efforts at reduction, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt infections are a major cause of morbidity in shunt surgery, occurring in 5–15% of cases. To attempt to reduce the shunt infection rate at our institution, we added topical vancomycin (intrashunt and perishunt) to our existing shunt infection prevention protocol in 2012. Meth...

OBJECTIVE To compare minimally invasive endoscopic and open surgical procedures, to improve informed consent of parents, and to establish a baseline for further targeted improvement of surgical care, this study evaluated the complication rate and blood transfusion rate of craniosynostosis surgery in our department. METHODS A prospective complicati...

OBJECTIVE After endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), some patients develop recurrent symptoms of hydrocephalus. The optimal treatment for these patients is not clear: repeat ETV (re-ETV) or CSF shunting. The goals of the study were to assess the effectiveness of re-ETV relative to initial ETV in pediatric patients and validate the ETV success sc...

Craniosynostosis is a congenital defect which can result in abnormal cranial morphology. Three dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry is potentially an ideal technique for the evaluation of cranial morphology and diagnosis of craniosynostosis because it is fast and harmless. This study presents a new method for objective characterization of the morp...

Introduction: Radiation-free 3D post-operative sequential follow-up in craniosynostosis is hindered by the lack of consistent markers restricting evaluation to subjective comparison. However, using the computed cranial focal point (CCFP), it is possible to perform correct sequential image superposition and objective evaluation. We used this techni...

Introduction: Craniosynostosis represents premature closure of cranial sutures. Prevalence is approximately 3.1-6.4 in 10.000 live births, which is reportedly rising. This epidemiologic study aims to provide insight into this rise through an accurate description of the prevalence, exploring regional variation and change over time. Methods: The D...

OBJECTIVE Minimal literature exists on the intraoperative complication rate of pediatric neurosurgical procedures with respect to both surgical and anesthesiological complications. The aim of this study, therefore, was to establish intraoperative complication rates to provide patients and parents with information on which to base their informed con...

Introduction: An evaluation of our first 111 consecutive cases of non-syndromic endoscopically assisted craniosynostosis surgery (EACS) followed by helmet therapy. Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospective registration database was performed. Age, duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, blood loss, transfusion rate, cephalic index a...

Introduction: Stereophotogrammetry is a radiation-free method for monitoring skull development after craniosynostosis repair. Lack of clear fixed reference points complicate longitudinal comparison of 3D photographs. Therefore we developed the 'computed cranial focal point' (CCFP). Methods: The CCFP was calculated in segmented 3D CT-scans of 36...

Object: Finite element models (FEMs) of the head are used to study the biomechanics of traumatic brain injury and depend heavily on the use of accurate material properties and head geometry. Any FEM aimed at investigating traumatic head injury in children should therefore use age-specific dimensions of the head, as well as age-specific material pr...

De behandeling van de zeldzame ziekte craniosynostose rechtvaardigt centralisatie binnen Nederland in twee centra, zoals vastgesteld in de richtlijn ‘Behandeling en zorg voor craniosynostose’. Via een zorgvuldige en open procedure is gekomen tot een keuze voor de centra in Rotterdam en Nijmegen. Beide teams leveren zorg voor geïsoleerde craniosynos...

Neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the association of large and/or multiple congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) of the skin with melanocytic lesions of the leptomeninges, including melanocytosis. Leptomeningeal melanocytosis carries a poor prognosis once neurological symptoms develop. Despite surgery, which...

Object: The authors conducted a study to compare the complication rate (CR) of pediatric neurosurgical procedures in a general neurosurgery department to the CRs that are reported in the literature and to establish a baseline of CR for further targeted improvement of quality neurosurgical care. Methods: The authors analyzed the prospectively col...

Introduction: The cephalic index (CI) of the head can be measured manually using a caliper, the original technique, but it is also possible to determine it using skull X-ray, 2DCT and 3DCT images, 3D photo and with help of plagiocephalometry (PCM). Patients and methods: In this study, the manual caliper determination is statistically compared wi...

Doelstelling. In 2005 introduceerden wij in ons ziekenhuis de endoscopische stripcraniëctomie gevolgd door een redressiehelm (ESC) voor de behandeling van craniosynostose. In deze studie evalueren wij de resultaten van deze behandeling. Patiënten en methoden. Dit is een retrospectieve studie over de periode 2005-2011 van alle patiënten met cranios...

Reporting financial disclosures has become standard practice in both journal publications and during oral forum at scientific meetings. Despite this, the effect of reporting a financial disclosure of any member of an authorgroup, on the tone of the conclusion of an article has gained little attention. This study was performed to determine what effe...

Degeneration of intervertebral discs and facet joints is one of the most frequently encountered spinal disorders. In order to describe and quantify degeneration and evaluate a possible relationship between degeneration and biomechanical parameters, e.g., the intervertebral range of motion and intradiscal pressure, a scoring system for degeneration...

Degeneration of intervertebral discs and facet joints is one of the most frequently encountered spinal disorders. In order to describe and quantify degeneration and evaluate a possible relationship between degeneration and biomechanical parameters, e.g., the intervertebral range of motion and intradiscal pressure, a scoring system for degeneration...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether an energy failure level applies to the skull fracture mechanics in unembalmed post-mortem human heads under dynamic frontal loading conditions. A double-pendulum model was used to conduct frontal impact tests on specimens from 18 unembalmed post-mortem human subjects. The specimens were is...

Skull fracture is a frequently observed type of severe head injury. Historically, a variety of impact test set-ups and techniques have been used for investigating skull fracture. The most frequently used are the free-fall technique, the guided fall or drop tower set-up and the piston-driven impactor set-up. This document proposes a new type of set-...

Finite element models (FEM) of the head are frequently used to simulate traumatic brain injury, leading to a better understanding of brain injury tolerance. The strength of a FEM of the head is dependent on the use of correct material characteristics, experimentally derived for each intracranial tissue, including parasagittal bridging veins (BV). T...

At K.U.Leuven, experimental skull fracture analysis is performed in the framework of bicycle helmet research. This particular work describes the testing of 191 cranial bone specimens to generate data for use in finite element modelling of the head. Specimens are taken from the parietal area of the head and are beam-shaped (approximately 1cm width,...

We report the use of bilateral thalamic stimulation in a case of primary erythromelalgia with immediate and important pain relief for 3 years. A 12-year-old boy experiencing primary erythromelalgia had a 4-year history of recurrent attacks of severe burning pain in both feet, accompanied by local reddening, swelling, and heating of the skin. The at...

Epidemiological studies on bicycle accidents show that a substantial fraction of the cyclists that call for medical aid, are suffering from skull and brain damage. The aim of the research performed at the K.U.Leuven is to reduce the risk of serious head injuries by the creation of a new type of bicycle helmet. To achieve this goal, a clinical revie...

A well known cause of death and disability after head trauma is the occurrence of an acute subdural haematoma (ASDH) due to bridging vein rupture. In the past, damage to the bridging veins and ASDH has been shown to be related to angular acceleration of the head in the sagittal plane. The objective of the present study was to establish critical pea...

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether an energy failure level would apply to the skull fracture mechanics in unembalmed post mortem human heads under dynamic frontal loading conditions. A double-pendulum set-up was used to conduct frontal impact tests on specimens from eight unembalmed post mortem human subjects. The spec...

Mutations of the SOD1 gene underlie 1 form of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Their pathogenic mechanism remains uncertain, but is thought to involve oxidative stress and abnormal protein aggregation, 2 processes known to induce heat shock proteins (HSPs). We studied the expression of 3 HSPs (alphaB-crystallin, HSP27, and HSP70) in tr...