What new surgical techniques are being used in the treatment of brain tumors?
Technology and computers, when used by a highly trained and skilled neurosurgical team, have revolutionized the approach to brain tumor surgery. During a traditional craniotomy, where the patients skull is opened to expose the tumor area, the neurosurgeon is guided by pre-operative scans and what he or she is able to see at the time of the operation. Sometimes, in an attempt to remove as much of the tumor as possible, healthy tissue surrounding the mass is removed. However, new techniques and tools are tools are enabling brain tumor surgery to be less invasive and more precise. At present, the Program is pioneering what is expected to be one of the most significant advances in image-guided neurosurgery: the use of intraoperative MRI scans to confirm the location of lesions, plan and reconfirm the optimal surgical approach, and verify complete lesion removal prior to closure. University Hospital is the second hospital in the world to utilize a compact OR-based MRI system to obtain the m
