A Practical Guide on Surgical Techniques in Functional Neurosurgery

Functional neurosurgery deals with a wide spectrum of diseases such as movement disorders, epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm and other neurovascular conflict syndromes, spasticity, failed back surgery syndrome and other kinds of chronic pain. Furthermore, the widespread of intraoperative neuro-monitoring techniques have implemented a “functional approach” also in brain tumors surgery. The functional neurosurgery surgical procedures modify the functioning of the nervous system. This can be done by electrical brain or spinal cord stimulation in Parkinson’s disease or chronic pain, by removing an epileptogenic zone in the brain causing seizures or by removing the arterial compression from the trigeminal or facial nerve in trigeminal neuralgia or hemifacial spasm. These are only some examples of the neurological diseases treated by functional neurosurgeon. In this book, we describe the surgical techniques to perform the functionally guided brain tumors surgery, the frameless deep brain stimulation, the neuronavigated microvascular decompression, the percutaneous trigeminal ganglion balloon compression, the spinal cord stimulation and the intrathecal pump implant. Moreover, we review the epilepsy surgery principles and indications and illustrate the vagus nerve stimulation surgical procedure. We think that this book will be especially useful for residents in neurosurgery and young neurosurgeons who are approaching the fascinating world of functional neurosurgery.