[Ultrasonically guided biopsy of cerebral tumors]

The authors have not an installation for stereotaxic neurosurgery. In this condition they have used for 3 years real-time ultrasonography to guide the biopsy of deep-seated brain lesions. For adopting finally their method, a preliminary study of 31 patients has been performed. This method is not available for superficial lesions (two failures) which are in the blind area of the probe. In 29 cases the lesion has been clearly identified and biopsed. Histologic diagnosis has been correct in 26 cases (90 percent), incorrect in 3 cases (lesion too necrotic in 2 cases, non specific gliosis in 1 case). The simplicity of this method, its innocuity and its low cost (versus sterotaxy) and its others applications prove its high interest for neurosurgery.