CT-guided needle procedures for brain lesions: 20 years' experience.

OBJECTIVE

To assess free-hand needle procedures with CT guidance for biopsy and drainage of brain lesions.

METHOD

A series of 184 operations was carried out on 120 patients over a 20-year period. Sixty (60) cases of suspected neoplasm were biopsied; 40 cases of intracerebral hemorrhage and 20 cases of intracranial suppuration underwent drainage.

RESULTS

The morbidity and mortality of the methods described were quite low due to steroid therapy, prophylactic antibiotics, and careful preparation of the access site. There was one complication of postoperative hemorrhage in a patient with metastatic melanoma.

CONCLUSIONS

The simple and accurate techniques presented continue to have widespread application in the practice of neurosurgery and compare quite favorably with techniques using more elaborate equipment, stereotactic frames, and intraoperative monitoring.