Helical CT and its three-dimensional image: application for image-guided surgery in middle cranial fossa approach

We describe our method to design a safe approach to the target region in surgery using helical (spiral) computed tomography (CT) and its three-dimensional images. Twenty-five patients with acoustic neuroma in the internal auditory canal underwent helical CT examination before surgery. Three-dimensional images were made and the internal auditory canal was identified. We exposed the internal auditory canal through the middle cranial fossa referring to these images. We also applied this method to four cases of vestibular nerve section. These images permitted safe, accurate image-guided surgery in these 29 procedures. Helical CT enables reconstruction of usable 3-D images and those images help us to perform surgery with minimal invasion.