Development of a Navigation-guided Fence-post Catheter for Brain Tumor Resection

Background : Navigation system devices have been developed to allow precise resection of brain tumor. The fence-post catheter techniques that use a navigation system have been used in many neurosurgery centers. However, an exclusive catheter for the fence-post catheter techniques have not been made, and substituted silicon tube of the cerebral ventricle drainage or a Nelaton catheter is widely used. Objective : In this brief technical note, we describe a new fence-post catheter with steel tip device that was designed for more precise tissue resection and is useful in tumor resection. Methods : The newly designed fence-post catheter helps to visually gauge the accurate depth from the tumor bottom during tumor resection. Furthermore, the catheter tip has moderate weight and is made of a non-magnetic material. Results : Using our fence-post catheter, which has a metal part at the tip of the tube (length, 13 mm), operators can clearly notice that they are getting closer to base of the tumor by checking the metal part during the resection of deep tumors. Conclusion : Our newly developed fence-post tube enables easy confirmation of the distance to deep-tissue regions and improves the degree of safety during tumor removal.