A survey of infections in stereotactic surgery.
In 365 consecutive intracranial stereotactic procedures over a 6-year period, there were three postoperative  infections; 1 case of increased neurological deficit and 1 of fatality. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism involved; however, multiple organisms were seen in 2 cases. Multiplicity of organisms necessitated the use of a broad spectrum of antibiotics in the preoperative and postoperative periods. The method described has permitted an infection rate which compares favorably to other reports in the literature. Perioperative antibiotics, antibiotic-containing irrigation solutions, and careful attention to sterile techniques seem to be instrumental in maintaining a low infection rate in our study. Since the new spheroid design has been used, there have been no infections.
D000293:Adolescent; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D004421:Dystonia / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000601:surgery; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000601:surgery; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D013238:Stereotaxic Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000601:surgery; D014202:Tremor / Q000601:surgery