Marking Basilar Artery Using Neuronavigation During Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy: A Clinical Study

To evaluate the efficacy of using a neuronavigation system for demonstrating the relationship between the basilar artery (BA) and ventricular floor during endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV).

Records of 28 patients (16 females and 12 males) diagnosed with obstructive hydrocephalus who had undergone a neuroendoscopic procedure were retrospectively examined. Patient age ranged from 1 to 76 years (median 24.46 years). The BA was marked with using the neuronavigation system in all cases to visualise its relationship to the floor of the third ventricle in real time.

ETV was successfully performed in 28 patients with obstructive hydrocephalus. Of these, 13 (46.4%) patients had a thickened tuber cinereum (TC) membrane and 3 (10.7%) showed lateralization of the BA under the ventricular floor. No contact with the BA or related complications (e.g., major bleeding) was encountered with BA marking by using neuronavigation.

Even though thickening of the TC membrane and/or displacement of the BA might be seen otherwise, we describe a new method that combines marking the BA and using neuronavigation to provide greater safety in the area where the ventriculostomy will be performed. This permits clearer orientation for the surgeon which significantly contributes to minimizing surgical morbidity.