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Radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy for intracranial meningiomas.

OBJECT: The authors report the evolution of linear accelerator (LINAC)-based radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with intracranial meningiomas. They describe the technical aspects as well as clinical and radiological outcomes. METHODS: The authors performed a retrospective review of 161 patients harboring 194 intracranial meningiomas treated with various types of stereotactic irradiation at their institution between May 1991 and July 2002. Clinical and radiological follow-up data (mean follow-up period 32.5 months, range 6-125 months) were obtained in 128 patients (79.5%) with 156 meningiomas (80.4%). There were 88 women and 40 men whose mean age was 57.2 years (range 18-87 years). Stereotactic irradiation was the primary treatment in 44 patients, and 84 patients underwent resection prior to radiosurgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was used to treat 79 lesions and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) was used to treat 77. The mean dose for SRS was 1567 cGy (range 1200-2285 cGy) prescribed to a mean isodose line of 66.6% (range 50-90%). Stereotactic radiotherapy was delivered using a mean dose of 4839 cGy (range 2380-5400 cGy), prescribed to a mean isodose line of 89% (range 50-90%). The mean follow-up periods were 40 and 24 months in SRS- and SRT-treated patients, respectively. Tumor control was achieved in 58 SRT-treated benign meningiomas (90%) and in 70 SRT-treated lesions (97.2%). In patients with atypical meningiomas a considerably poorer prognosis was seen. Clinical improvement or stabilization of symptoms was observed in the majority of patients. Symptomatic complications were limited to four patients (5%) treated with SRS and four (5.2%) treated with SRT. CONCLUSIONS: Stereotactic irradiation techniques have changed the neurosurgical approach to intracranial meningiomas. Either SRS or SRT delivered as a primary treatment in selected cases of skull base lesions or as an adjuvant after conservative resection has improved the management of these complex intracranial tumors.

Adolescent↗

Image-guided neurosurgery comparing a pointer device system with a navigating microscope: a retrospective analysis of 208 cases.

A retrospective analysis of neuronavigation procedures performed at the Vienna Neurosurgical Clinic was undertaken to elucidate the advantages of 2 technically different navigation systems in clinical use. In a 30-month period, 208 frameless stereotactic procedures were performed using a stereotactic microscope (MKM System, Zeiss; 92 procedures in 87 patients; 47 female, 40 male; mean age, 46 yrs) and a light emitting diode (LED) based pointer navigation device (Easy Guide Neuro (EGN), Philips; 116 procedures in 114 patients; 63 female, 51 male; mean age 46.4 yrs). The navigating microscope was exclusively used for cranial navigation, the pointer device system in 107 cases for cranial and in 9 cases for spinal navigation. Procedures were CCT-guided in 109 cases, MRI-guided in 95, and both CT/MRI guided in 4 cases. Skin fiducials were used in all these procedures. The MKM system provided coordinate-based navigation, similar to frame systems. This allowed surgical planning and performance using stereotactic coordinates for target calculation. Additionally, tumor volumes were defined by contours and projected into the ocular of the microscope, allowing guidance during targeting and resection of lesions. Both of these features proved beneficial in tumor surgery (60.8% MKM cases), cavernoma surgery (21.8% MKM cases), and epilepsy surgery (14.1% MKM cases). In contrast to the microscope, the pointer navigation system could be employed for intuitive correlation of image points with points of interest in the operating field by using a LED-equipped pointer device. This permitted image guidance during a wide spectrum of neurosurgical procedures, in tumor surgery (68.1% EGN cases), cavernoma surgery (5.1% EGN cases), epilepsy surgery (14.1% EGN cases), vascular surgery (3.4% EGN cases), spinal surgery (7.8% EGN cases), and guidance for burr holes and drainages (6.9% EGN cases), without calculating stereotactic coordinates. This analysis showed clear differences in the application of the two systems and may facilitate the decision as to which system best meets the individual demands of a neurosurgical department.

Adult↗

[Sensor-based detection of skull positioning for image-guided cranial navigation under free head mobility].

PURPOSE: Although computer- and image-guided surgical procedures are an improvement of frame-guided stereotaxy, many navigation systems still require rigid fixation of the patient's head throughout the operation. This study describes the clinical application of a technical modification that enables cranial navigation with "free head mobility" using CT and MR images as well as the calculated 3-D reconstruction models. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A sensor-based electromagnetic neuronavigation system was expanded to allow the localization and position monitoring of several sensors within an electromagnetic field. One of these sensors was attached to a dental splint as an additional reference (DRF = dynamic reference frame). Thus, it was possible to determine the position of the sensor-guiding surgical instruments and to record the slightest movement of the cranium as well. This information was then used to continuously adapt the position of the imaging plane and the resultant calculated 3-D reconstructions to the actual position of the cranium. RESULTS: The clinical application of the DRF was tested for different neurosurgical procedures. They included image-guided biopsies and endoscopic interventions using MRI data, transnasal accesses to the base of the skull using CT data and surgical removal of multilocular metastases using data from both imaging modalities. Intracranial target reference points as well as those on the skull were found with a high accuracy to the initial measurement position after arbitrary movement of the patient's head. Thus, navigation was also possible without rigid fixation of the head because of the continuous adaptation of the imaging data on the change in position of the patient's head. CONCLUSION: Based on these first test results, a high clinical potential for DRF application in cranial navigation is to be expected. The aim of DRF is to dispense with the rigid fixation of the patient's head. This increases the application scope of image-guided navigation procedures to include, for example, any bioptic or endoscopic intervention, in which rigid pin fixation of the cranium is not required or desired. For all other procedures, continuous position monitoring by DRF ensures automatic correction of imaging data with mechanical alteration of the head position.

Brain Diseases↗

Methodological and technical issues for integrating functional magnetic resonance imaging data in a neuronavigational system.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to analyze the technical and methodological issues resulting from the use of functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) data in a frameless stereotactic device for brain tumor or pain surgery (chronic motor cortex stimulation). METHODS: A total of 32 candidates, 26 for brain tumor surgery and six chronic motor cortex stimulation, were studied by fMRI scanning (61 procedures) and intraoperative cortical brain mapping under general anesthesia. The fMRI data obtained were analyzed with the Statistical Parametric Mapping 99 software, with an initial analysis threshold corresponding to P < 0.001. Subsequently, the fMRI data were registered in a frameless stereotactic neuronavigational device and correlated to brain mapping. RESULTS: Correspondence between fMRI-activated areas and cortical mapping in primary motor areas was good in 28 patients (87%), although fMRI-activated areas were highly dependent on the choice of paradigms and analysis thresholds. Primary sensory- and secondary motor-activated areas were not correlated to cortical brain mapping. Functional mislocalization as a result of insufficient correction of the echo-planar distortion was identified in four patients (13%). Analysis thresholds (from P < 0.0001 to P < 10(-12)) more restrictive than the initial threshold (P < 0.001) had to be used in 25 of the 28 patients studied, so that fMRI motor data could be matched to cortical mapping spatial data. These analysis thresholds were not predictable preoperatively. Maximal tumor resection was accomplished in all patients with brain tumors. Chronic motor cortex electrode placement was successful in each patient (significant pain relief >50% on the visual analog pain scale). CONCLUSION: In brain tumor surgery, fMRI data are helpful in surgical planning and guiding intraoperative brain mapping. The registration of fMRI data in anatomic slices or in the frameless stereotactic neuronavigational device, however, remained a potential source of functional mislocalization. Electrode placement for chronic motor cortex stimulation is a good indication to use fMRI data registered in a neuronavigational system and could replace somatosensory evoked potentials in detection of the central sulcus.

Adolescent↗

[X-ray studies of the brain as a basis for stereotaxy (author's transl)].

All attempts to reconstruct the topography of the brain in the living from studies of animal material are handicapped by technical difficulties. The best method is to compare exact X-ray pictures, which have been taken under stereotactic conditions. From a large collection of such X-rays the authors have composed contours of the internal table of the skull and of the ventricles, which best match the brains, selected for the Schaltenbrand-Bailey sterotactic atlas. For practical purposes these contours were combined with the transparent overlays for the nomenclature and the border lines of the different parts of the basal ganglia, which have been used in the myelin sections part of the atlas. A comparison of our sagittal series with the new X-ray findings shows, that the sagittal schemata of the atlas represent an extreme variation in the position of the Meynert axis and of the contours of the 4th ventricle. We have chosen a new axis system for the hindbrain, which corresponds to the average of our brains in constructing a new set of typical overlays for the atlas. The contour of the posterior fossa had to be completed. An independent axis system dor the structures of the 4th ventricle was developed, consisting of the base of the 4th ventricle, and a tangent, to the upper contour of the pons. In sterotactic procedures the axis systems for the forebrain and the hindbrain should be used independently. The results obtained are the basis for a new series of lantern slides which can be projected against the X-ray pictures with the Würzburg stereotactic equipment. In the course of this investigation we discovered a source of error. When air enters the puncture hole of the dura, the brain may sink back, so with the patient lying on his back, all structures may shift a few millimeters towards the occipital region. When the patient is lying on his side, as during an approach to the amygdala through the planum temporale, the ventricular system may collapse, so that almost no air is visible in the ventricles and the 3rd ventricle may appear to be in the lower hemisphere, the dislocation being more than 5-8 mm. But filling the ventricle with air through the ventricular catheter is sufficient to blow up the brain and to restore the normal topography.

Brain↗

3D angiography. Clinical interest. First applications in interventional neuroradiology.

3D angiography is a true technical revolution that allows improvement in the quality and safety of diagnostic and endovascular treatment procedures. 3D angiography images are obtained by reconstruction of a rotational angiography acquisition done on a C-arm (GE Medical Systems) spinning at 40 degrees per second. The carotid or vertebral selective injection of a total of 15 ml of non-ionic contrast media at 3 ml/sec over 5 seconds allows the selection of the "arterial phase". Four hundred sixty 3D angiographic studies were performed from December 1996 to September 1998 on 260 patients and have been analyzed in MIP (Maximum Intensity Projection) and SSD (Shaded Surface Display) views. The exploration of intracranial aneurysms is simplified and only requires, for each vascular axis, a biplane PA and Lateral run followed by a single rotational angiography run. The 3D angiography image is available on the workstation's screen (Advantage Workstation 3.1, GE Medical Systems) in less than 10 minutes after the acquisition of the rotational run. It therefore allows one to analyze, during the intervention, the aneurysm's angioarchitecture, in particular the neck, and select the best therapeutic technique. When endovascular treatment is the best indication, 3D angiography allows one to define the optimal angle of view and accurately select the microcoils dimensions. 3D angiography replaces the multiple oblique views that used to be required to analyze the complex aneurysms and therefore allows a reduction of the total contrast medium quantity, the patient X-ray dose and the length of the intervention time which is a safety factor. Also, in particular for complex cases, it brings additional elements complementing the results of standard 2D DSA and rotational angiograms. In the cervical vascular pathology, 3D angiography allows for a better assessment of the stenosis level and of dissection lesions. Our current research activities focus on the matching without stereotactic frame between 3D X-ray angiography and volumetric MR acquisition, which should allow us to improve the treatment of intracerebral arterio-venous malformations (AVMs).

Aortic Dissection↗

The Richard C. Schneider Lecture. New dimensions of neurosurgery in the realm of high technology: possibilities, practicalities, realities.

Fueled by a buoyant economy, popular attitudes and demands, and parallel progress in transferable technical and biological areas, neurosurgery has enjoyed a remarkable quarter of a century of progress. Developmental trends in the discipline have included the following: 1) a refinement of preoperative definition of the structural substrate, 2) miniaturization of operative corridors, 3) reduction of operative trauma, 4) increased effectiveness at the target site, and 5) incorporation of improved technical adjuvants and physical operative tools into treatment protocols. In particular, the computer has become a formidable ally in diagnostic and surgical events. Trends in technical development indicate that we are entering an exciting era of advanced surgery of the human cerebrum, which is heralded by the following: 1) current developments in areas of imaging, sensors, and visualization; 2) new devices for localization and navigation; 3) new capabilities for action at the target point; and 4) innovative concepts related to advanced operative venues. Imaging has provided structurally based surgical maps, which now are being given the new dimension of function in complex and integrated formats for preoperative planning and intraoperative tactical direction. Cerebral localization and navigation based on these advances promise to provide further refinement to the field of stereotactic neurosurgery, as linked systems are superseded by more flexible nonlinked methodologies in functionally defined volume-oriented navigational databases. Target point action now includes not only ablative capabilities through micro-operative methods and the use of stereotactically directed high-energy forms but also the emergence of restorative capabilities through applications of principles of genetic engineering in the areas of molecular and cellular neurosurgery. Complex, dedicated, and self-contained operative venues will be required to optimize the emergence and development of these computer-oriented micro/stereotactic capabilities, which appear to be unavoidably required as locales for the practice and development of virtual reality-based stations for operative rehearsal, simulation, training, and, ultimately, enhancement of operative events through robotic interfaces. Primary impetus for progress has relied upon new combinations of technologies, disciplines, and industries. Philosophical and practical problems include the spectrum of availability of these methods to the population at large, the training of individuals to properly administer these methods, defining the acceptable envelope of expertise, and maintaining suitable delivery and progress while containing spiraling costs. Advanced neurological surgery and the use and development of high-technology adjuvants require a robust economy that has a populace willing to invest in the luxury of such developments. The current socioeconomic situation is fragile from the standpoint of both economics and attitudes of the patients and health care providers, with diversion of economic resources, redistribution of funding bases, modification of patient referrals, practice styles, and service attitudes undermining progress. Economic pressures have brought high-technology methods under great scrutiny regarding their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Reform proposals have specifically targeted technology-oriented services, and the Office of Technology Assessment has recommended increasing the use of managed care providers who look to information on cost-effectiveness and clinical practice guidelines to establish efficient management strategies and issue "report cards." Although the premise is laudable and "gimmickry" needs to be identified, it might be argued that such scrutiny and control might be overbearing and overused, impeding appropriate delivery and progress.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

Radiosurgery for residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma.

OBJECT: Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas comprise approximately 30% of all pituitary tumors. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the efficacy and role of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) in the management of residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. METHODS: A review was conducted of the data obtained in 42 patients who underwent adjuvant GKS at the University of Pittsburgh between 1987 and 2001. Prior treatments included transsphenoidal resection, craniotomy and resection, or conventional radiotherapy. Endocrinological, ophthalmological, and radiological responses were evaluated. The duration of follow-up review varied from 6 to 102 months (mean 31.2 months). Fifteen patients were observed for more than 40 months. The mean radiation dose to the tumor margin was 16 Gy. Conformal radiosurgery planning was used to restrict the dose to the optic nerve and chiasm. Tumor control after GKS was achieved in 100% of patients with microadenomas and 97% of patients with macroadenomas. Gamma knife radiosurgery was equally effective in controlling adenomas with cavernous sinus invasion and suprasellar extension. No patient developed a new endocrinological deficiency following GKS. One patient's tumor enlarged with an associated decline in visual function. Another patient experienced a deterioration of visual fields despite a decrease in tumor size. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma knife radiosurgery can achieve tumor control in virtually all residual or recurrent nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. Dose sparing facilitates tumor management even when the adenoma is close to the optic apparatus or invades the cavernous sinus.

Adenoma↗

Gamma knife radiosurgery as a primary treatment for prolactinomas.

OBJECT: The purpose of this study was to estimate the efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) in controlling tumor growth and endocrinopathy associated with prolactinomas. METHODS: Between 1993 and 1997, 164 of 469 patients with pituitary adenomas treated by GKS harbored prolactinomas. The dose to the tumor margin ranged from 9 to 35 Gy (mean 31.2 Gy), and the visual pathways were exposed to a dose of less than 10 Gy. The mean tumor diameter was 13.4 mm. The mean follow-up time for 128 cases was 33.2 months (range 6-72 months). Tumor control was observed in all but two patients who underwent surgery 18 and 36 months, respectively, after GKS. Clinical cure was achieved in 67 cases. Clinical improvement was noted with a decrease in the hyperprolactinemia after GKS. Nonetheless, in 31 (29%) of 108 patients who were followed for more than 2 years no improvement in serum prolactin levels was demonstrated, although this could be normalized by bromocriptine administration after treatment. Nine infertile women became pregnant 2 to 13 months after GKS and all gave birth to normal children. There was no visual deterioration related to GKS. Five women experienced premature menopause. In these patients there was subtotal disappearance of the tumor and an empty sella developed. CONCLUSIONS: Gamma knife radiosurgery as a primary treatment for prolactinomas can be safe and effective both for controlling tumor growth and for normalization of prolactin hypersecretion. A higher margin dose (> or = 30 Gy) seemed to be associated with a better clinical outcome. Gamma knife radiosurgery may make prolactinomas more sensitive to the bromocriptine.

Humans↗