Craniotome [Neurosurgery Wiki]

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.

====== Craniotome ======

Instrument to perform [[craniotomy]].

A cranial [[drill]], also known as a craniotome, is a tool for [[drilling]] simple [[burr hole]]s ([[trepanation]]) or for creating larger openings in the skull. This exposes the brain and allows operations like [[craniotomy]] and [[craniectomy]] to be done. The [[drill]] itself can be manually or electrically driven, and primarily consists of a hand piece and a drill bit which is a sharp tool that has the form similar to [[Archimedes screw]], this instrument must be inserted into the drill chuck to perform holes and remove materials. The trepanation tool is generally equipped with a clutch which automatically disengages once it touches a softer tissue, thus preventing tears in the [[dura]]. For larger openings, the craniotome is a surgical instrument that has replaced manually pulled saw wires in craniotomies from the 1980s.