Brain surgery, also called neurosurgery, is a field of medicine in which surgeons must navigate their way through tangles of neurons, or brain cells. Cut neurons don't regenerate, and functional areas of the brain often have fewer well-defined edges than other body organs, meaning that brain surgeons must be very precise in their operations. In addition to a surgeon's typical arsenal of tools, including scalpels, retractors and clamps, brain surgeons also rely upon specialized instruments.
Drills
The first challenge facing a brain surgeon is penetrating the skull without damaging the delicate structures underneath. Drills can be quite useful in this regard: they can make holes for small instruments, and also produce starter holes for saws used in creating larger openings. A 1997 paper published in the journal "Neurology Research" outlines some of the features that differentiate neurosurgical drills from common household or dentistry tools. Brain surgery drills produce fewer vibrations than common drills, since they operate at very high power. They also have the ability to sense when they're no longer drilling through hard tissue, such as bone, and they automatically shut off. Their electronic reaction time is much faster than that of even the most precise surgeon, so this feature prevents injuring the membranes under the skull and the brain itself.
MRI
Surgeons working in the body cavity can move organs around to get to the one they need, but brain surgeons often have to go through one area of the brain to access another. Since disturbing brain tissue is always risky, surgeons use imaging tools to help them find the shortest and least destructive path to their target. Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is one invaluable tool in a neurosurgeon's arsenal, explains a 2000 article in the "Journal of Neurosurgery." The article notes that MRIs help surgeons assess the proximity of a tumor or other lesion to important functional areas of the brain, and help surgeons spare vital tissue.
Gamma Knife
A relatively recent neurosurgical tool, the gamma knife is an alternative to open brain surgery. The International RadioSurgery Association explains that the gamma knife works by focusing several beams of intense gamma radiation on a tumor. The radiation is not sufficiently intense to damage brain tissue in a single beam, meaning that only tissue located at the junction of many beams of gamma radiation is excised. Gamma knife surgery spares significant portions of tissue surrounding the tumor or lesion, meaning less loss of function.
References
- "Neurological Research"; High power drill systems in neurosurgery; M Dujovny, et al.; December 1997
- "Journal of Neurosurgery"; High power drill systems in neurosurgery; C.D. Albertstone, et al.; January 2000
- International RadioSurgery Association: Gamma Knife
