AN ILLUMINATING RETRACTOR FOR INTRACRANIAL MICRONEUROSURGERY

During certain microneurosurgical procedures, the illumination provide d by current coaxial microscope light sources is suboptimal. One poten tial solution is the surgical light blade (SLB), a malleable retractor incorporating a flat fiberoptic bundle along its surface. The SLB pro vides intense illumination within the surgical field without decreasin g the amount of limited operating space, A prototype of the SLB mas te sted in six patients. Results suggest that with further development th e SLB could become useful for intracranial microneurosurgery.