The word Endoscopy may seem scary but those of you who’ve had one will know that it’s just a simple and less painful surgery than the classical one. Neuroendoscopy is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure in which the Neurosurgeons make tiny holes in the patient’s skull to remove a tumor. These holes created on the skull are usually the size of a small thumb ring. An Endoscope is an instrument used by the surgeons to perform an endoscopy. An endoscope is a thin tube which has a camera or a lens at one end, and a light at the other. The lens transmits the images to the surgeon’s eye and the light helps them to see the organs clearly because, well, it’s dark in there.

The neurosurgeon receives specialized training to practice Neuroendoscopic surgeries. Neuroendoscopy is preferred by almost all the doctors nowadays because of its safe nature. During the healthy tissues are not disturbed at all and the surgery is not much complicated so the outcomes are always excellent. Neuroendoscopy enables the surgeons to access the areas of the body that cannot be reached with traditional surgery. It is also effective in removing the tumor without harming the other parts of the brain or the skull. The traditional method of tumor removal from the brain was a bit more complicated and came with a lot of risk or tissue damage. Neuroendoscopy is less painful, leaves behind minimal scars, and offers a faster recovery than the traditional surgery.

Improvement of fibre optics and imaging has led to brilliant advancements in Neuroendoscopy. Since the beginning of modern medicine, neurosurgeons have tried to come up with new and efficient ways to remove an intracranial tumor The use of endoscope has revolutionized the way how a tumor used to be treated and not only brain tumors but other neurological disorders too.

The first neurosurgical endoscopy was done by a surgeon named L’Espinasse in 1910 on two infants with hydrocephalus for choroid plexus fulguration using a cystoscope. Unfortunately, the surgery was successful with only one infant. But Neuroendoscopy has come a long way since L’Espinasse and his cystoscope and with the advancements in technology, the future seems bright. With the miniaturization of cameras and optical technology, robotics system, innovation in surgical instruments etc, the field of neurology will surely benefit.