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Stereotactic Approaches to the Brain Stem

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Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery

Abstract

The stereotactic concept was first developed by Horsley and Clarke in 1905 to allow precise surgical navigation within the monkey cranium [1]. Applying these principles to clinical practice in 1947, Spiegel and Wycis ushered in a new era where surgical access to deep seated and highly eloquent brain areas could be achieved with minimal morbidity and mortality [2]. These stereotactic techniques were swiftly applied to pathologies and procedures involving the brain stem [3]. In the decades that followed, the introduction of cross-sectional imaging led to the first image-directed stereotactic brain stem procedures [4,5]. With judicious application, stereotactic brainstem approaches remain a powerful clinical tool. Biopsy of brainstem masses provide a safe and reliable method of obtaining a histological diagnosis, aspiration of cysts, blood clots and abscesses provide therapeutic relief, and brainstem targets are increasingly being considered in functional procedures for pain control and movement disorders.

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Authors
  1. L. U. Zrinzo
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  2. D. G. T. Thomas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Research Chair in Neuroscience (Tier 1), 399 Bathurst St. WW 4-447, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2S8, Canada

    Andres M. Lozano (Professor of Surgery and RR Tasker Chair in Functional Neurosurgery University of Toronto Senior Scientist, Toronto Western Research Institute President, World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery) (Professor of Surgery and RR Tasker Chair in Functional Neurosurgery University of Toronto Senior Scientist, Toronto Western Research Institute President, World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery)

  2. Houston Stereotactic Concepts, Inc., 2260 West Holcombe Boulevard Suite 309, Houston, Texas, 77030, USA

    Philip L. Gildenberg

  3. University of Toronto, 399 Bathurst St. WW 4-447, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2S8, Canada

    Ronald R. Tasker

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Zrinzo, L.U., Thomas, D.G.T. (2009). Stereotactic Approaches to the Brain Stem. In: Lozano, A.M., Gildenberg, P.L., Tasker, R.R. (eds) Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69960-6_51

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69960-6_51

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-69959-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69960-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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