Brain Port
There are some tumors that are located within the substance of the brain itself. The Brain port was designed to work within the brain substance itself (parenchyma) or within the fluid system in the brain (ventricles). Remembering the concept that brain behaves like a sponge made of delicate fibers that serve to connect critical structures, Dr. Kassam pursued the ability to work within those fibers by creating “a straw/cannula”. The cannula gently separates these fibers and creates a window (“nose in the brain”) to work through. Since manipulation is minimized, once the straw or cannula is removed the fibers have the potential of returning to their natural state with minimal disruption.
Dr. Kassam first reported this technique to remove tumors within the ventricles, including tumors previously thought to be too large and vascular for conventional endoscopic approaches. The approach was further refined for specific deep-seated tumors located below the brain surface (cortex). The brain cannula approach is now used for removal of many gliomas (astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas), metastatic brain tumors (arising from cancers elsewhere in the body) and intraventricular tumors such as meningiomas.
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