Resección de lesiones cerebrales con asistencia de mapeo cortical intraoperatorio

introduction: extensive resection for malignant intraaxial intracranial tumors has been demonstrated to improve survival. this is not always possible due to potential tumor location in or next to eloquent brain regions, like primary motor cortex or speech areas. in this case, avoiding neurological deficits is challenging. one of the tools for minimizing that risk is intraoperative cortical mapping (icm). this report describes the icm technique of eloquent brain regions, feasibility and complementariness with other methods for tumor localization. methods: seven patients with brain lesions near eloquent regions operated on were analyzed. frameless stereotaxis (neuronavigation) and intraoperative cortical mapping (direct cortical stimulation and monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials) were used. the location, size, type of lesion, amount of resection, pre and postoperative neurological status were studied. results: icm was effective in localizing primary motor cortex in all patients. in 6 patients the tumor area without functionality was removed, achieving complete or greater than 90% resection in 5 of them. in one patient the lesion was a deep arteriovenous malformation located below the primary motor cortex. in this case icm made feasible an approach from non-eloquent cortex to achieve total resection. no new postoperative deficit was found in a 12 month follow-up period. conclusion: icm is useful and localize functional cortical regions effectively, simply and reliably, making possible to perform extensive tumor resections in eloquent regions. this technique is complementary to other tools for anatomical or physiological localization and could contribute to a safer and more effective surgery.