Introduction: We examined the procedural safety and length of hospital stay for patients who underwent stereotactic laser ablation (SLA).
Methods: Patients undergoing stereotactic laser ablation were prospectively enrolled in the Laser Ablation of Abnormal Neurological Tissue using Robotic Neuroblate System (LAANTERN) registry. Data from the first 100 enrolled patients are presented.
Results: The demographic of the patient cohort consisted of 58% females and 42% males. The mean age and KPS of the cohort were 51 (±17) years and 83 (±15), respectively. 87% of the SLA-treated patients had undergone prior surgical or radiation treatment. In terms of indications, 84% of the SLAs were performed as treatment for brain tumor and 16% were performed as treatment for epilepsy. In terms of the procedure, 79% of the SLA patients underwent treatment of a single lesion. In 72% of the SLA treated patients, >90% of the target lesion was ablated. The average procedural time was 188.2 minutes (range: 48-368 minutes). The average blood loss per procedure was 17.7 cc (range: 0-300cc). In terms of hospitalization, the average length of Intensive Care stay was 38.1 hours (range 0 – 335). The number of hours post-procedure before patient discharge was 61.1 hours (range 6-612). 85% of the patients were discharged home. There were 15 adverse events at the one-month follow-up (12%), with two events definitively related to the procedure (2%), including one patient with post-operative intraventricular hemorrhage and another with post-procedural gait compromise.
Conclusions: SLA is a minimally invasive procedure with favorable profile in terms of safety and hospital length of stay.
Patient Care: This approach may offer a minimally invasive alternative to non-operative or difficult to resect brain tumors.
Learning Objectives: Understand the safety profile of SLA for intracranial lesions.