Cerebral corridor creator for resection of trigone ventricular tumors: Two case reports

Background: Resection of deep intracranial tumors requires significant brain retraction, which frequently causes brain damage. In particular, tumor in the trigone of the lateral ventricular presents a surgical challenge due to its inaccessible location and intricate adjacent relationships with essential structures such as the optic radiation (OR) fibers. New brain retraction systems have been developed to minimize retraction-associated injury. To date, there is little evidence supporting the superiority of any retraction system in preserving the white matter tract integrity. This report illustrates the initial surgical excision in two patients using a new retraction system termed the cerebral corridor creator (CCC) and demonstrates its advantage in protecting OR fibers.

Case summary: We report two patients with nonspecific symptoms, who had trigone ventricular lesions that involved the neighboring OR identified on preoperative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Both patients underwent successful surgical excision using the CCC. Total tumor removal was achieved without additional neurological deficit. DTI showed that the OR fibers were preserved along the surgical field. Preoperative symptoms were alleviated immediately after surgery. Clinical outcomes were improved according to the Glasgow-Outcome-Scale and Activity-of-Daily-Living Scale assessments.

Conclusion: In the two cases, the CCC was a safe and useful tool for creating access to the deep trigonal area while preserving the white matter tract integrity. The CCC is thus a promising alternative brain retractor.