Over the past two decades, neurosurgery has been transformed into a very "high tech" specialty. Most significant, however, have been innovations in medical equipment that have given neurosurgeons the ability to provide patients with safer, more effective, and less invasive treatment.
Beginning in the early 1960s, neurosurgeons began working with the operating microscope. For the first time, surgeons were able to see the finest detail with tremendous clarity and focus — they were able to see aneurysms in the brain that needed to be clipped, ruptured discs in the spine to be removed, or brain and spinal tumors that had to be removed without trauma to the surrounding tissue. This device also gave the capability to reduce incision size and tissue damage, promoting faster healing.
Another high tech development in the practice of neurosurgery was the advent of stereotactic radiosurgery, which involves the precise delivery of a highly concentrated dose of radiation precisely directed for the purpose of stopping a growth, e.g. tumor. Stereotactic radiosurgery is used to treat brain tumors, abnormal blood vessels in the brain, facial pain, and certain movement disorders. It is not surgery in the conventional sense, as it does not require an operation in which an incision is made.
Computer assisted image guided navigation gives the ability to construct 3D models from CT scan or MRI images. This information can then be used during preoperative planning and during spine and cranial surgery.
These breakthrough technology applications have helped to make neurosurgery safer and less invasive for patients and ensure better outcomes than ever before.
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