Surgical treatment of brain abscess

The author reviews the methods of surgical treatment of brain abscess. All methods are grouped into the following six categories: tube drainage, marsupialization, the migration method of Kahn, tapping only, aspiration, and excision. At present, only two methods are used: aspiration and excision. Antibiotics and computed tomographic (CT) scanning play important roles in the surgical treatment of a brain abscess. The use of CT scanning is invaluable in the management of brain abscess for early and exact localization, assessment of the adequacy of operation, and sequential follow-up.