Background: Stereotaxic surgery for viral vector delivery in young children is highly challenging because of their small cranial size, thin and fragile skull, and deformity of the skull or brain after prolonged bed ridden condition.
Objective: To develop a modified frameless stereotactic system especially suitable for intracerebral delivery of viral vector in young children for accurate localization of intracerebral targets during stereotactic surgery.
Methods: A modified frameless stereotactic system was developed for intracerebral delivery of viral vector in pediatric patients with congenital enzyme deficiency. Localization markers and a stereotactic stabilizer were designed specifically for surgery in pediatric patients, and this equipment is used along with a pre-existing frameless stereotactic and computer-assisted planning and navigation system.
Results: We applied this modified frameless stereotactic system to treat 10 children with aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency.
Conclusion: It is potentially suitable for stereotactic functional neurosurgery in pediatric patients as young as 1 yr and 8 mo of age.
Keywords: Children; Intracerebral delivery of viral vector; Modified frameless stereotactic system; Stereotactic surgery.
Copyright © 2019 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.