Minimally invasive awake craniotomy using Steiner-Lindquist stereotactic laser guidance.

INTRODUCTION: Awake craniotomy permits the continuous assessment of intraoperative neurological functions. In addition, stereotactic laser guidance aids in performing minimally invasive procedures related to the radical resection of lesions located in eloquent and non-eloquent brain regions.

METHODS: Between May 2000 and October 2006, 117 consecutive patients with various intracranial tumoral lesions underwent 141 resection procedures. The eloquent areas were determined with the aid of anatomic landmarks and/or functional MRI (fMRI) examinations. The resection of the lesions was performed under continuous neurological examination. In all cases, postoperative MRI was performed within 24-72 h.

RESULTS: Seventy-seven males and 40 females were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 52.0+/-12.6 years. Most of the lesions were located within the parietal lobe. Of the lesions, 33 (23.4%) were located within the cortex, whereas 108 (76.5%) were subcortical. The most common pathologies were metastasis (70 cases) and glioblastome multiforme (27 cases). In 20 (14.2%) of the patients, fMRI was performed preoperatively. Of 21 patients with multiple lesions, 18 underwent 2 craniotomies and 3 underwent 3 craniotomies. The mean operation time was 72+/-0.3 min, and the mean hospital stay was 3.26+/-1.82 d. The average lesion size was 11.92+/-15.26 cm(3). In 7 cases (4.9%), the surgery caused either new neurological deficits or a worsening of the existing deficits; these deficits were permanent in 2 (1.4%) cases. One patient (0.7%) died due to the development of postoperative intracerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONS: Awake craniotomy with the aid of stereotactic laser guidance is a safe procedure that assists in performing minimally invasive resection of lesions in eloquent and non-eloquent brain regions. Although direct intraoperative stimulation was not performed, detection of the functioning areas of the brain with fMRI decreased additional postoperative neurological deficits. Overall, this method decreased the operation time and hospital stay.