Neurosurgical sonography: intraoperative and postoperative imaging of the brain.

Sonography was used to detect and localize intracranial lesions intraoperatively in 16 patients and to examine 31 patients (47 exams) postoperatively for a variety of clinical problems. Current sonographic technology was effective for localizing and differentiating cystic and solid intracranial pathology and for determining the size and boundaries of the intracranial lesions and their distance from the cortical surface. It was used occasionally as an aid for circumventing intracranial vessels during tissue dissection and, when used, determined the completeness of tumor dissection. Sonography also proved to be a reliable postoperative tool when surgically created cranial windows were present, but the location and size of the surgical window were critical to the quality of the images obtained. Both applications of this technique complement computed tomography and therefore can serve as a valuable adjunct in the treatment and follow-up of the neurosurgical patient.