The role of neuroendoscopy in the management of brain tumours

Neuroendoscopy is increasingly used in the management of brain tumours and tumour related hydrocephalus and this study reviews the efficacy of neuroendoscopic interventions in this unit in patients with brain tumours. A series of 87 neuroendoscopic operations carried out in 77 patients with brain tumours over a 6-year period is reported. The age range of the patients was from 5 months to 70 years (median 13 years). In 56 cases (64%) presentation was with a newly-diagnosed tumour and hydrocephalus. The majority of the remaining patients had varying degrees of worsening hydrocephalus on the background of a previously diagnosed tumour. Neuroendoscopic third ventriculostomy (NTV) was successful in relieving hydrocephalus in the short term in 63/66 cases (95%) and in the longer term in 55/66 cases (83%). Neuroendoscopic tumour biopsies were successful in providing a tissue diagnosis in 17/28 cases (61%) and four extensive and three partial resections of tumour were carried out. There were two deaths within 30 days of the procedure with only one of these, secondary to intraventricular haemorrhage, directly related to neuroendoscopy. Few significant complications were noted otherwise. For selected intraventricular and paraventricular tumours neuroendoscopy offers the opportunity to combine relief of hydrocephalus with tumour biopsy and sampling of CSF in a single procedure.