Functional DTI tractography in brainstem cavernoma surgery

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Surgical resection of brainstem cavernomas is associated with high postoperative morbidity due to the density of local vulnerable structures. Classical mapping of pathways by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has proven to be unspecific and confusing in many cases. In the current study, the authors aimed to establish a more reliable, specific, and objective method for somatotopic visualization of the descending motor pathways with navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS)–based DTI fiber tracking. METHODS Twenty-one patients with brainstem cavernomas were examined with nTMS prior to surgery. The resting motor threshold (RMT) and cortical representation areas of hand, leg, and facial function were determined on both hemispheres. Motor evoked potential (MEP)–positive stimulation spots were then set as seed points for tractography. Somatotopic fiber tracking was performed at a fractional anisotropy (FA) value of 75% of the individual FA threshold. RESULTS Mapping of the motor cortex and tract reconstruction for hand, leg, and facial function was successful in all patients. The somatotopy of corticospinal and corticonuclear tracts was also clearly depicted on the brainstem level. Higher preoperative RMT values were associated with a postoperative motor deficit (p < 0.05) and correlated with a lower FA threshold (p < 0.05), revealing structural impairment of the corticospinal tract (CST) prior to surgery. In patients with a new deficit, the distance between the lesion and CST was below 1 mm. CONCLUSIONS nTMS-based fiber tracking enables objective somatotopic tract visualization on the brainstem level and provides a valuable instrument for preoperative planning, intraoperative orientation, and individual risk stratification. nTMS may thus increase the safety of surgical resection of brainstem cavernomas.