Endoscope-controlled Access to Thalamic Tumors using Tubular Brain Retractor: An Alternative Approach to Microscopic Excision

Background Surgery for thalamic lesions has been considered challenging due to their deep-seated location. Endoscopic excision of deep-seated brain tumors using tubular retractor has been shown to be safe and effective in prior studies; however, there are limited reports regarding its use for thalamic tumors. We present our experience of endoscope-controlled resection of thalamic tumors using a tubular retractor. Material and Methods This was a prospective observational case series done at a tertiary center specialized for endoscopic neurosurgery during the period from 2010 to 2019. Surgeries were performed under the endoscopic control using a silicon tubular retractor. Lesions were approached transcortically or trans-sulcally. Data were collected for the extent of resection, amount of blood loss, operative time, need for conversion to microscopy, and complications. Results Twenty-one patients of thalamic masses of 14- to 60-year age underwent the surgeries. Pathologies ranged from grade I to IV gliomas. Gross total and near-total resection could be done in 42.85% of cases for each group. The average blood loss and operative time were164.04 ± 83.63 mL and 157.14 ± 28.70 minutes, respectively. Complications included a small brain contusion, two transient hemipareses, and one transient speech deficit. Conclusion Endoscopic excision of thalamic tumors using a tubular retractor was found to be a safe and effective alternative to microscopic resection.

Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy in the Treatment of Thalamic Brain Tumors: A Case Series

BACKGROUND Surgical options for patients with thalamic brain tumors are limited. Traditional surgical resection is associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) utilizes a stereotactically placed laser probe to induce thermal damage to tumor tissue. LITT provides a surgical cytoreduction option for this challenging patient population. We present our experience treating thalamic brain tumors with LITT. OBJECTIVE To describe our experience and outcomes using LITT on patients with thalamic tumors. METHODS We analyzed 13 consecutive patients treated with LITT for thalamic tumors from 2012 to 2017. Radiographic, clinical characteristics, and outcome data were collected via review of electronic medical records RESULTS Thirteen patients with thalamic tumors were treated with LITT. Most had high-grade gliomas, including glioblastoma (n = 9) and anaplastic astrocytoma (n = 2). The average tumor volume was 12.0 cc and shrank by 42.9% at 3 mo. The average hospital stay was 3.0 d. Median ablation coverage as calculated by thermal damage threshold (TDT) lines was 98% and 95% for yellow (>43°C for >2 min) or blue (>10 min), respectively. Median disease-specific progression-free survival calculated for 8 patients in our cohort was 6.1 mo (range: 1.1-15.1 mo). There were 6 patients with perioperative morbidity and 2 perioperative deaths because of intracerebral hematoma. CONCLUSION LITT is a feasible treatment for patients with thalamic tumors. LITT offers a cytoreduction option in this challenging population. Patient selection is key. Close attention should be paid to lesion size to minimize morbidity. More studies comparing treatment modalities of thalamic tumors need to be performed.