Our evaluation of the usefulness of CUSA in poorly accessible brain tumors and intramedullary tumors

: The intention of this report is to present the experience with CUSA gathered in an over 5 year period of time in operations of tumours of various characteristic and localization. The subject of this evaluation is the usefulness of CUSA NS-100, which has been in constant use in the Neurosurgical Department of CCH MMS since February 1986. The material includes 163 patients with brain and intraspinal tumours, which were entirely or partly removed using CUSA. The tumours were located in basal region of the skull, posterior fossa, other regions of the brain and spine. Most of those tumours histologically were meningiomas, gliomas, neurinomas, invasive adenomas of hypophysis and craniopharyngiomas. The analysis of the obtained results decisively contradicts the current opinion of CUSA versatility and its almost unlimited possibilities. Its usefulness is limited only to selected cases. The radicality of the operation is still conditioned by many factors, the most important of which are location of the tumour and its sensitivity to ultrasounds.