Marking Basilar Artery Using Neuronavigation During Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy: A Clinical Study

Özet

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of using a neuronavigation system for demonstrating the relationship between the basilar artery (BA)and ventricular floor during endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV).MATERIAL and METHODS: Records of 28 patients (16 females and 12 males) diagnosed with obstructive hydrocephalus whohad undergone a neuroendoscopic procedure were retrospectively examined. Patient age ranged from 1 to 76 years (median 24.46years). The BA was marked with using the neuronavigation system in all cases to visualise its relationship to the floor of the thirdventricle in real time.RESULTS: ETV was successfully performed in 28 patients with obstructive hydrocephalus. Of these, 13 (46.4%) patients had athickened tuber cinereum (TC) membrane and 3 (10.7%) showed lateralization of the BA under the ventricular floor. No contact withthe BA or related complications (e.g., major bleeding) was encountered with BA marking by using neuronavigation.CONCLUSION: Even though thickening of the TC membrane and/or displacement of the BA might be seen otherwise, we describe anew method that combines marking the BA and using neuronavigation to provide greater safety in the area where the ventriculostomywill be performed. This permits clearer orientation for the surgeon which significantly contributes to minimizing surgical morbidity.