Robotic skull base surgery

Abstract

Skull-base surgery is a tedious and delicate operation because of the complex structures found at the skull base. However, it is the preferred procedure when tumours are found deep inside the brain, or when there is a disorder in the skull-base region. The procedure involves drilling away the skull-bone at the skull-base region before the brain can be reached. Because of the presence of vital blood vessels and nerves, the surgeon has to drill away the bone very carefully, taking as much as eight hours just to do so.