A legacy of microneurosurgery: memoirs, lessons, and axioms

This article is written at the request of the editor. It contains my autobiographical sketch, professional memories, lessons, axioms, and reflections on the present problems in neurodiagnosis and neurotherapy. The combination of microsurgical techniques, the bipolar coagulation technique, the concept of arachnoidal exploration, and the concept of segmental and compartmental occurrence of vascular and neoplastic lesions of the central nervous system, with their predilection sites, allowed microneurosurgery to gradually unfold and proceed within the last 30 years as a continuation of conventional neurosurgical principles established by the founder generation. Today, the lesions in each region of the central nervous system can be accessed without using computer-assisted targeting and navigation technology and can be selectively eliminated ("pure lesionectomy") with acceptable outcomes; the mortality and morbidity rates have been reduced remarkably. Further scientific and technological advances will promote the ongoing evolution in neurodiagnosis and neurotherapy. Competitive neurospecialties are welcomed in the interest of patients, medical sciences, and surgical advances. The younger generation of neurosurgeons will have spent more time in laboratory training, deepening their knowledge of neuroanatomy and gaining experience in surgical techniques. The achievements, limits, and problems of neurosurgery in relation to technology, medical and surgical standards, and controversial treatment options have been presented thoroughly in numerous professional publications. However, the relationship of neurosurgery to the evolution of integral neurophysiology and biochemistry has hitherto been inadequately evaluated. The advances in microbiology, anesthesiology, and topographic neurology have been viewed as essential components of neurosurgery's foundations. A critical analysis proves that this is only partially true. The turning point in the development from craniospinal surgery to physiological neurosurgery began with the research of Th. Kocher, V. Horsley, H. Cushing, and W. Dandy concerning the importance of the cerebrospinal fluid system. This was the first step in a trend toward integral neurophysiology, which initiated neurosurgical procedures on a routine basis. The intensive research on the hypothalamus by R.W. Hess and associates led to intensified studies on the autoregulated integral functional units of the central nervous system ("dynamic homeostasis," in the words of W.B. Cannon). This slowly developing but exciting history of neurophysiology requires patient study to seek out solutions for the present difficulties in neurodiagnosis and neurotherapy, which constitute a similar situation to that encountered by the pioneer surgeons at the end of the last century. In pertinent sections, my personal opinions relating to observations and experiences with a large number of operated patients with vascular and neoplastic lesions are presented. The predilection sites of brain tumors in the neopallial and paleopallial (limbic-paralimbic) areas and brainstem, and their expansive but usually not infiltrative growth, are discussed and documented. The current hypothesis of infiltrative growth of gliomas is opposed. The microsurgical technique for the treatment of various types of lesions is summarized. The principal microsurgical instruments and apparatus are presented with some remarks relating to their conception and manufacture.