Image-Guided Orbital Surgery

Stereotaxy involves the use of computerized technology to identify a point in three dimensions using a Cartesian coordinate system, which can be used for preoperative surgical planning and intraoperative computer-assisted surgical navigation. Stereotactic technology allows for the visualization of surgical anatomy and instrument placement intraoperatively in real-time on preoperatively acquired images, typically computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or CT-MRI fusion studies. Image-guided surgery has modernized a variety of surgical interventions, including radiosurgery, biopsy, implantation, resection, stimulation, and reconstruction. Although neurosurgery is the field that most frequently utilizes stereotaxy, skull base surgery, otolaryngology, oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS), orthopedic surgery, and other medical specialties have also appropriated image-guided surgery into their armamentarium, with notable improvements in patient outcomes. Importantly, the use of stereotactic navigation has been extended to orbital surgery by neurosurgeons, skull base surgeons, and OMF surgeons – a natural extension of this useful surgical tool.