Utility of an off-site intra-operative MRI operating theatre for paediatric brain tumour surgery: experience from a Singapore children’s hospital

Background Intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) has been recognized as a useful adjunct for brain tumor surgery in pediatric patients. There are minimal data on the use of an offsite intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging operating theater (iMRI OT), whereby vehicle transfer of patients is involved. The primary aim of this study is to validate the feasibility of perioperative patient transfer to use an offsite iMRI OT for patients with pediatric brain tumor. Secondary objectives include the assessment of tumor resection efficacy and perioperative outcomes in our patient cohort. Methods This is a retrospective, single-institution clinical study of prospectively collected data. Variables of interest include issues encountered during interhospital transfer, achievement of surgical aims, length of stay in hospital, and postoperative complications. Our findings were compared with results of related studies published in the literature. Results From January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2018, a total of 35 pediatric operative cases were performed in our offsite iMRI OT. Within this cohort, 24 of these were brain tumor surgery cases. For all the patients in this study, use of the iMRI OT influenced intraoperative decisions. Average ambulance transport time from parent hospital to the iMRI OT was 30.5 minutes, and from iMRI OT back to the parent hospital after surgery was 27.7 minutes. The average length of hospitalization stay was 7.9 days per patient. Conclusions In our local context, the use of interhospital transfers for access to iMRI OT is a safe and feasible option in ensuring good patient outcomes for a select group of patients with pediatric brain tumor.