This article provides a basic overview of burr hole surgery and its applications, such as emergency burr hole evacuation for extra-axial cerebral haemorrhage or for different types of craniotomies. To perform fronto-orbito-zygomatic craniotomy, fronto-temporal, supra-orbital, or fronto-temporal-parietal decompressive craniectomies, among other procedures, a key bur-hole at the fronto-zygomatic-temporal region is usually utilized. However, the term “key hole,” or “key burr hole,” is frequently used to describe any burr hole in this region (fronto-zygomatic-temporal region anterior to pterional region).(1,2)
Refined and simplified surgical landmarks for the MacCarty keyhole and orbitozygomatic craniotomy. Neurosurgery. 2010 Jun;66(6 Suppl Operative):230-3.
, de Vries, J., Wurzer, J. A. L., & Grotenhuis, J. A. (2006). Intraoperative ventricular puncture during supraorbital craniotomy via an eyebrow incision: Technical note. Journal of Neurosurgery JNS, 105(3), 485-486.
3) Ganesh Arumugam, Visvanathan Krishnaswamy, Jishnu Narayanan Nair, Vivek Visweswaran, Bhaskar Naidu, Ganesh Krishnamurthy, Factors influencing the outcome of patients with traumatic acute subdural hematoma (ASDH) - A single centre analysis, Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery, Volume 25,2021,101130, ISSN 2214-7519,
Paul. Decompressive Surgery for “Pure” Epidural Hematomas: Does Neurosurgical Expertise Improve the Outcome?. Neurosurgery 44(3): p 501-502, March 1999.
Ten-year experience with the supraorbital subfrontal approach through an eyebrow skin incision. Neurosurgery. 2005 Oct;57(4 Suppl):242-55