Do the benefits of image guidance in neurosurgery justify the costs? From stereotaxy to intraoperative MR.

Advances in medical imaging, together with the development of many new minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic techniques, have had a huge impact on the practice of neurosurgery. Image-guided, minimally invasive methods that use microinstruments, lasers, catheters, and endoscopes are achieving results comparable to or better than those obtained with traditional surgical resection. Better visibility has resulted in smaller exposures, better preservation of eloquent cortex, less extensive brain retraction, and shorter surgical recovery time. In other words, better surgery.