Table 4 Summary of common complications of LITT and recommendation to avoid
From: Neurosurgical applications of MRI guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)
| Â | Reported complication | Recommendation | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arteria injury leading to hemorrhage | • Choosing the safer trajectory even if it is longer (Jethwa et al.) | Jethwa et al. (1 patient), Pruitt et al. (3 patients) |
2 | Refractory brain edema due to large lesion size | • Ideal lesion: < 3 cm in diameter, well defined. • Staged procedure for larger lesion. • Pre procedure steroids (Jethwa et al.) | Jethwa et al. (1 patient) |
3 | Thermal injury to a nearby vital structure | • Using smaller diffusing tips. • Use caution when target lesion is not adjacent to CSF space (act as a protective heat sink) (Pruitt et al.) | Jethwa et al. (1 patient), Pruitt et al. (3 patients) |
4 | Catheter malposition | • Using an alignment rod. • Avoid use of plastic skull anchors (Pruitt et al.) | Jethwa et al. (1 patient), Pruitt et al. (4 patients) |