FLEXIBLE NEUROENDOSCOPY FOR PERCUTANEOUS TREATMENT OF INTRAVENTRICULAR LESIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF HYDROCEPHALUS

A procedure with a flexible fiberoptic neuroendoscope was applied to a series of patients with small lesions in the lateral ventricle, not a ssociated with hydrocephalus. The maneuverability of the flexible neur oendoscope allows the surgeon to work in narrow spaces of the lateral ventricle avoiding surgical trauma to surrounding neural structures. T he safety and accuracy of this procedure depend upon how available wor king space is obtained in the undilated ventricles. Both shaft-roation and tip-flexion of the flexible neuroendoscope are available for adju sting it to the wider axis in each region of the lateral ventricle and for dealing with the intraventricular lesions. Three patients with a small intraventricular lesion, two with arachnoid cysts and one with s ubependymal hematoma, underwent such a procedure successfully. It is c oncluded that this neuroendoscopic procedure provides benefits to the treatment of small intraventricular lesions regardless of the size of the cerebral ventricles.