MICROSURGICAL REMOVAL OF DEEP-SEATED VASCULAR MALFORMATIONS USING SONAR STEREOMETRY

The advantages of a new, dynamic sonar technology in open stereotactic microsurgery are demonstrated by means of three surgical procedures for deep-seated vascular malformations that are not easy of access. With this method, targets can be aimed at without using rigid, obstructive pointing devices as in conventional stereotaxy. On the contrary, it is possible to take advantage of preformed anatomical spaces reaching the lesion most carefully by means of light-weight, free-hand on-target instruments. The spatial information, correlated with a CT data set, is displayed in real time with an accuracy of +/- 1 mm. Additional image data from MR and digital angiography can be used interactively.