Radical resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors without cavitron ultrasonic aspirator or CO2 laser: A “two stage” technique

Complete surgical excision of intramedullary schwannoma at the craniovertebral junction in neurofibromatosis type-2

“…2 Nine more cases have been added to the list afterwards including our case. 6,7,10,11, Among all 66 cases reviewed, intramedullary schwannomas were seen in males/ female ratio of 1.5, which remained the same as noted earlier by Drapkin. 1 The ages of patients ranged from 9 to 75 years (mean 41.5).…”

“…4,11 Complete surgical excision of an intramedullary tumour (including Schwannoma) is challenging in neurosurgical practice to avoid exacerbating neurosurgical deficits. 6,11 Recently, the use of Real-time MRI, CUSA, CO 2 -laser along with somatosensory-evoked potentials have revolutionized the sophistication and precision in neurosurgical procedures. Their use in spinal intramedullary tumour is especially helpful to accomplish complete excision.…”

Two-stage Operation for Resection of Spinal Cord Astrocytomas:Technical Case Report of Three Cases

“…Furthermore, Kalagu et al (18) reported 20 cases of intramedullary tumors, including seven cases of astrocytomas. They described routinely use of a two-stage operation for intramedullary tumors as an alternative technique without cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator or CO 2 laser (18). They achieved total removal of the tumor in all cases except one.…”

Cervical intramedullary schwannoma: complete excision using the KTP laser

“…Where such tumours are completely removed, excision has been facilitated by various techniques including intraoperative ultrasound for diagnosis and tumour localization, 1,2 and planned two-stage operations. 4 The use of ultrasonic aspiration is also documented. 3 Although laser surgery in more common spinal cord tumours is now widely practised, 9,11,12 this is the ® rst report of the effectiveness of the laser, in this case the KTP laser, in the complete excision of a cervical intramedullary schwannoma.…”