Stereotactic Aqua-Stream and Aspirator in the treatment of intracerebral hematoma. An experimental study.

The efficacy of the Stereotactic Aqua-Stream and Aspirator (SAS&A) was experimentally investigated by using hematoma models in the test tube and in gelatin. Even a solid hematoma can be crushed by the water jet and aspirated easily. The greater the positive pressure of the water jet and the negative pressure of suction, the stronger the ability to remove clots. A water jet pressure of 10-20 kg/cm2 and a suction pressure of 100-200 mm Hg were sufficient to remove experimental clots from the test vessels. When the SAS&A was operated in the brain of dogs with a water jet pressure of 20 kg/cm2 and a suction pressure of 200 mm Hg, aspirated brain tissue was less than 15 mg/min in weight, and histological brain injuries were observed only in the area less than 2 mm from the window of the probe, indicating that the procedure with the SAS&A would be relatively atraumatic. We conclude that these observations indicate that the SAS&A can be safe and extremely useful for removal of hypertensive intracerebral hematomas, even in the acute stage.