INTERACTIVE IMAGE-GUIDED SURGERY OF THE SPINE - USE OF THE ISG ELEKTAVIEWING WAND TO AID INTRAOPERATIVE LOCALIZATION OF A SACRAL OSTEOBLASTOMA/

The intraoperative localization of small osteoid osteomas and osteobla stomas of the spine is often difficult. The authors report a patient w ith a small sacral osteoblastoma in whom the experimental use of an In teractive Image-Guidance Stereotactic system, to aid localization, is described. The Elekta Viewing Wand(TM) is a spatial localization devic e primarily designed for intracranial procedures. We evaluated its pot ential role in the localization and minimally invasive excision of a s acral osteoblastoma in this patient. A basic assessment of the limitat ions encountered in extracranial use of this system is presented and p ossible solutions to minimize these problems are discussed.