Image-Guided Brain Surgery in Sharjah
Medically reviewed by Dar Al Kamal Team
What is image-guided brain surgery?
Image-guided brain surgery is an operation planned and carried out with neuronavigation. Before surgery, a detailed scan of your head is loaded into a computer that builds a three-dimensional map of the brain, the skull and the target. In the operating theatre, a camera tracks a pointer and the surgical instruments, and the screen shows their tip on your own scan in real time, much as a satellite navigation screen shows a car on a road map.
The step that makes this work is called registration. The computer matches points on your scan to the same points on your head, either by tracing the surface of the face and scalp or by using small adhesive markers placed on the skin before the planning scan. Once the two are matched, the surgeon can plan the smallest opening that reaches the target and choose a route that passes around important areas.
Navigation is a guide for the surgeon's judgement and hands. The operation itself is the same operation, performed with a clearer map.
Who needs it
Image guidance helps most where a target is small, deep or hard to see from the surface. Typical examples are:
- a brain tumour lying beneath normal-looking brain, where navigation helps place a small, accurate opening (see brain tumour surgery)
- a needle biopsy of a deep lesion, where the tissue sample has to come from a precise point
- placement of a drainage tube (shunt catheter) into a narrow fluid space in hydrocephalus
- some spinal operations, such as removing a spinal tumour or placing screws where the anatomy is unusual
Many neurosurgical operations rely on well-known landmarks and the surgeon's direct view, and they go perfectly well with standard methods. Most disc and nerve-release operations fall into this group.
The decision is made at your consultation. The neurosurgeon looks at your scans, explains whether image guidance adds value for your particular operation, and where it does, sets out the plan: surgery at Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah, or referral to a centre that provides navigation. The alternatives to the operation itself, such as observation with repeat scans or treatment by referral to an oncology or radiosurgery centre, are covered on the page for your condition.
What happens
A planning scan comes first, usually an MRI and sometimes a CT. Navigation needs very thin, closely spaced scan slices, so an older scan, or one taken abroad, may be repeated even when it looked clear. If skin markers are used, they are placed on the scalp beforehand and stay on until the operation.
Under general anaesthetic, your head is held completely still in a padded frame fixed to the operating table, because any movement would shift the map. The surgeon registers your head to the scan, checks accuracy by touching known points, and then plans the incision. During the operation the surgeon uses magnification and confirms position on the screen at key moments. At the end, the frame is removed and the wound is closed in the usual way.
Preparing for it
- Bring every previous scan on disc or file, plus the reports, in any language
- Keep any skin markers dry and in place until surgery
- List all your medicines, especially blood thinners, diabetes medicines and seizure medicine
- Arrange for a family member to stay close and to drive you home
- If surgery falls during Ramadan, discuss fasting and medicine timing with the team early
Residents who were advised to have navigated surgery abroad are welcome to bring those scans for a view in the UAE; a second opinion often starts there.
Afterwards
Recovery follows the operation performed, and image guidance itself adds very little to it. Small marks from the head frame pins heal within days. Your surgeon gives you a timeline for work, driving and travel; desk-based jobs and physically demanding jobs return at different points, and long-haul flights are usually delayed for a period after brain surgery. Drink plenty of water in the UAE heat while you recover.
Call emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department at once for a sudden severe headache, a seizure, increasing drowsiness, confusion or new weakness after surgery. Contact the hospital on 06 599 7777 if the wound becomes red, swollen or leaks fluid, or if you develop a fever.
Cost and insurance
Insurers generally approve the operation as a whole, and navigation forms part of the operative plan submitted for pre-approval. The planning MRI or CT usually needs its own approval, and a repeat scan requested for navigation is approved in the same way. Where the operation is arranged at another centre, that centre handles its own approval. Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah can help you confirm your cover on 06 599 7777.
Related services
Frequently asked questions
Is neuronavigation available at Dar Al Kamal Hospital?
Neuronavigation equipment at Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah has not yet been confirmed, so this page does not describe it as an on-site service. If your operation would benefit from image guidance, the neurosurgeon explains this at your consultation and, where needed, arranges the operation at a centre that provides it. Call 06 599 7777 for the current position.
What are the risks and limitations of image-guided surgery?
The risks of image-guided surgery are those of the underlying operation, such as bleeding, infection, seizures or new weakness, and navigation itself adds little extra risk. Its main limitation is brain shift: once the skull is opened and fluid drains, the brain moves slightly, so the map gradually becomes less exact as the operation goes on. The surgeon therefore relies on direct vision and experience alongside the screen, and navigation keeps that judgement central.
Does the navigation computer carry out the operation?
The navigation computer carries out no part of the operation: the surgeon holds and moves every instrument, and the system only shows where the instrument tip sits on your scan. Think of it as a detailed map on a screen, with the surgeon doing all the driving.
Why might I need a new scan if I already had an MRI?
You may need a new scan because navigation requires very thin, evenly spaced slices taken with a specific protocol, and many routine MRIs use thicker slices. A recent scan also shows the target as it is now, which matters if a growth has changed.
Does image guidance make recovery faster?
Image guidance can make recovery smoother when it allows a smaller, better-placed opening, but recovery depends mainly on the operation and the condition being treated. Your neurosurgeon gives you a realistic timeline for your own case.
Can image guidance be used for spine surgery?
Image guidance can be used for some spine operations, particularly tumour removal and screw placement where the anatomy is unusual, often combined with X-ray or CT taken during surgery. Routine disc operations are usually done with standard methods, and your neurosurgeon explains which approach fits your spine.
Do I need a referral to discuss image-guided surgery?
You can book an appointment with the neurosurgeon directly on 06 599 7777, without a referral. Bring your scans on disc or file as well as the written reports.
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