Object: To investigate the role of stereotactic biopsy in planning the optimal management of intracranial space-occupying lesions. Patients and Methods: Between December 1989 and December 1999, stereotactic biopsy was performed in 550 patients with intracranial mass lesions that were deep-seated or located in the functional area. There were 340 males and 210 females, and their ages ranged from 4 to 75 years. All the procedures were done under local anesthesia with a Leksell stereotactic system. A CT scan was used to determine the coordinates in the first 420 cases and the Aero Tech Stereotactic Surgical Plan System in the subsequent 130 patients. Results: Brain tumors were diagnosed pathologically in 475 patients (86.4%), inflammatory process in 44 (8.0%), other lesions in 12 (2.2%) and no conclusive diagnosis was found in 19 (3.4%). The overall positive rate of biopsy was 96.6%, and the positive rate for brain tumor was 86.4%. Intracranial hematomas after biopsy were found in 13 cases (2.4%). Seizures occurred during the operation in 7 cases (1.2%), and slight and transient neurological deficits were found in 23 cases (4.2%). There were no deaths or other serious complications. Conclusions: The results suggest that the stereotactic biopsy is a reliable method to obtain histopathological diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions, and it is also of great help in selecting the appropriate management.
At present, the common surgical procedures for the Chiari malformation type I are comprised of posterior fossa decompression, duraplasty and tonsillectomy. Some neurosurgeons prefer these so called minimally invasive surgeries. However, there are still some failures for patients undergoing the above surgeries in clinical practice. Analyzing causes of many surgical failures, the author put forward the anatomical concept of occipitocervical dura angulation (ODA). The ODA is defined as the included angle between the cerebral dura mater and spinal dura mater at the posterior foramen magnum on the median sagittal plane. For Chiari malformation type I without atlantoaxial instability, the selection of appropriate surgeries and accurate evaluation on the effect of the decompression can be realized after the comprehensive analysis both on the severity of tonsil herniation and the ODA. Tonsillectomy may be needed to add to posterior fossa decompression (PFD) and duraplasty for Chiari malformation type I with the ODA being the larger obtuse angle and/or the tonsil herniation to the level of arcus posterior atlantis.
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