Stereotactic biopsy of brain tumours in the paediatric population.

Objective: Our objective was to establish the role of stereotactic neurosurgical techniques in the management of brain tumours in children.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of all stereotactic procedures performed in a single centre between 1996 and 2001. The success rates of achieving histologic diagnosis and a correlation between radiologic and histologic diagnosis were examined.

Results: There were 7 boys and 7 girls with a mean age of 9.1 years (range: 4-15). Under general anaesthetic 15 procedures were performed in 14 patients: 12 diagnostic and 3 therapeutic; 10 with CT and 5 with MRI guidance; 10 lesions were supratentorial and 4 were in the pons. A definitive histologic diagnosis was established in 10 of the 12 cases (diagnostic yield 83%). The pre-operative radiological diagnosis was accurate for tumour type in only 75% of the cases. In 3 patients cyst aspiration was attempted: post-operatively the cyst size was decreased in 2 and unchanged in 1. Seizures and acute confusion following biopsy of a thalamic tumour occurred in 1 patient. Post-operative scans were performed in 7 patients and in 2 we noted small, clinically insignificant, haemorrhages at the biopsy site. There was no mortality and morbidity was 6.6%.

Conclusions: This small series confirms that stereotactic procedures in children are safe, well tolerated, with a high diagnostic yield, which could be improved with the use of intraoperative histopathological examination.