ABSTRACT
The field of neurosurgery is not new but has a long history during which there has been a gradual evolution towards the new techniques and methodology that are available today. Spiegel and Wycis are widely credited with the introduction of stereotactic surgery into neurosurgery. In the absence of satisfactory pharmacological treatment, the 1950s and 1960s saw the widespread introduction of stereotactic surgery in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Hassler is credited with having carried out the first thalamotomy in 1954 and since then the ventrolateral (VL) nucleus of the thalamus has been one of the most commonly used target sites in stereotactic surgery. Leksell, in Sweden, identified the ventral and posterior part of globus pallidus interna (GPi) as the optimum site in the pallidum and this procedure was popularised by Laitinen and co-workers. High-frequency stimulation of the target site has always been used as a method of identifying the targets during stereotactic surgery for movement disorders.
