Evaluation of minimally invasive excisional brain biopsy and intracranial brachytherapy catheter placement in dogs

Objective-To evaluate a technique for minimally invasive excisional brain biopsy and intra cranial brachytherapy catheter placement in dogs Animals-5 healthy adult female dogs Procedures-Computed tomographic guidance was used to plan a biopsy trajectory to a selected area of brain with reference to a localizer grid The procedure was performed through a 1-cm skin incision and 6-mm burr hole by use of a 9-gauge biopsy device Five cylindrical samples (3 to 4 mm in diameter and 7 to 12 mm in length) were removed over 5 cycles of the vacuum-assisted tissue excision system leaving approximately a 2 cm(3) resection cavity A balloon-tipped intracranial brachytherapy catheter was placed through the burr hole into the resection cavity expanded with saline (0 9% NaCl) solution and explanted 7 days later Results-4 of 5 dogs survived the procedure The fifth died because of iatrogenic brain damage Neurologic deficits were unilateral and focal Twenty-four hours after surgery all surviving dogs were ambulatory 2 dogs exhibited ipsiversive circling 4 h id contralateral proprioceptive deficits 3 had contralateral menace response deficits 2 had a reduced contralateral response to noxious nasal stimulation and 1 had dull mentation with intermittent horizontal nystagmus and ventrolateral strabismus Neurologic status improved throughout the study period Histologic quality of biopsy specimens was excellent Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-This technique enabled histologic diagnosis from high-quality biopsy specimens obtained through a minimally invasive technique and ha, potential applications for multimodal treatment of deep brain tumors in dogs (Am J Vet Res 2011 72 109-121)