Use of intraoperative ultrasonography to monitor surgery for large acoustic neuromas: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
Operations for large acoustic neuromas were difficult. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) was a useful adjunct to the microsurgery.


METHODS
Fifteen patients with large acoustic neuromas underwent surgical interventions. IOUS was applied in seven cases, and the other eight cases served as controls. IOUS was performed to monitor the surgery, and the intraoperative data were compared with postoperative CT/MRI scans.


RESULTS
All tumors could be identified in ultrasonic images. Lesions appeared as solid (2/7) or mixed patterns (5/7) with clear boundaries. A larger tumor volume was seen in the IOUS group but without statistical significance (29.05 ± 15.47 vs. 21.82 ± 14.78 cm(3), P = 0.3718). The use of IOUS did not prolong the operation time (404.29 ± 111.18 vs. 420.00 ± 114.24 min, P = 0.7921) and did not increase the rate of intracranial infections (28.57 vs. 25.00%, P = 1.000). The residual tumor detected with IOUS immediately after the operation was consistent with the data from postoperative CT/MRI scans in all cases.


CONCLUSIONS
IOUS can be used to monitor surgery in real time as a technique to assist microsurgical procedures for large acoustic neuromas with trouble.
Department of Ultrasonography, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Xiaoling
X
Huang
Institute of Ultrasound Engineering in Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Jiao
J
Zhang
Department of Ultrasonography, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Hong
H
Yang
Institute of Life Science, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. yutinghe@hotmail.com.
Tinghe
T
Yu
Acoustic neuroma; Intraoperative ultrasonography; Microsurgery