Image-guided Surgery Takes Doctors on a 3-D Tour of the Brain and Spine

Brain and spine surgeries are among the most complex and difficult -- not to mention frightening – procedures to be performed. Due to the close proximity of the nervous system, the spinal cord and the optic nerve, surgeons must take painstaking care when cutting into the brain or spine to avoid damaging delicate tissue.

Fortunately, recent breakthroughs in computer technology now allow surgeons to literally see inside the patient’s brain or spine prior to surgery – before the knife ever touches the skin. This procedure, called Image-Guided Neurosurgery, is now available at Saint John’s Health Center and provides surgeons with an unprecedented degree of accuracy in pinpointing trouble spots in the brain and spine.

“Image-guided neurosurgery is now a reality of modern medicine, allowing for smaller, more precise incisions, better patient results and shortened hospital stays,” says Saint John’s neurological surgeon Fardad Mobin, M.D., who performs the procedure. “And because this technology lends itself to a minimally invasive surgery, patients suffer less trauma during the procedure and are able to return to their normal lives more quickly afterwards.”

Using high-definition images obtained either by MRI machines or Spiral CAT scanners, a highly accurate 3-D “Virtual Patient” image of the patient’s brain or spine is created prior to surgery. This true-to-life 3-D image allows surgeons to see tumors, arteries and nerves in advance, so that they can target or avoid these areas during the surgery.

“Surgeons can now perform a ‘practice run’ prior to the actual surgery,” says Dr. Mobin. “By using high-definition imagery, coupled with highly sophisticated programming software, we can also test possible approaches and evaluate the advantages and pitfalls of each approach prior to treatment.”

During surgery, neurosurgeons rely on the same 3-D imaging system to guide them as they carefully navigate through the brain and spine.

For more information on Image-Guided Neurosurgery, please visit www.cnsdoc.com or contact Dr. Mobin at his office at (310) 680-0560.

For more information on Saint John's Health Center, please call Saint John’s at (310) 829-5511 or visit the health center’s website at http://www.stjohns.org