(stereotactic surgery) n. a surgical procedure in which a deep-seated area in the brain is operated upon after its position has been established very accurately by three-dimensional measurements using CT or MRI. The operation may be performed using an electrical current or by heat, cold, or mechanical techniques. See also leucotomy.
(pallidectomy) n. a neurosurgical operation to destroy or modify the effects of the globus pallidus (see basal ganglia), formerly used for the relief of *parkinsonism and other conditions in which involuntary movements are prominent before the advent of modern drug therapies. The development of more accurate techniques to localize the globus pallidus has led to a revival in its use: in the modern form of pallidotomy, a lesion is made in the globus pallidus by stereotactic surgery (see stereotaxy). New techniques achieving better results involve the implantation of stimulators (pallidal stimulation).... pallidotomy
the accurate localization, with the help of scans, of structures within the body by using three-dimensional measurements. It enables the accurate positioning within the body of radiotherapy beams or sources for the treatment of tumours and of localizing wires for the biopsy of small tumours. See also stereotaxy; cyberknife; gamma knife.... stereotactic localization
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