An Experience with Frame-Based Stereotactic Biopsy of Posterior Fossa Lesions via Transcerebellar Route

Tissue diagnosis for lesions in the posterior fossa, such as the brainstem, cerebellar peduncle, and cerebellum, is an important determinant of the next treatment option. Herein, we present our 10-year experience with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided frame-based stereotactic biopsy for 39 patients with posterior fossa lesions, the largest case series in this matter.

We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study on all patients with posterior fossa lesion admitted to 2 referral centers between 2006 and 2016. We used Leksell Frame G for stereotactic biopsy of all patients. MRI systems of both hospitals were 1.5 T.

We performed analysis on the 39 cases (21 men and 18 women). Age of the patients ranged between 9 and 73 years (mean, 35.4 ± 15.7 years). Localization success rate was 100%. For 38 patients (97.4%), tissue sample size was enough for tissue diagnosis. For 1 case, it was insufficient and nondiagnostic. In this series, we had no surgery-related complications.

We present the largest reported series of MRI-guided frame-based stereotactic biopsy of the posterior fossa lesions via a transcerebellar route. We prefer oblique positioning of the frame on the skull and use a transcerebellar route to reduce surgical complications and achieve a greater localization success rate.