History repeats itself.

Although many advances in stereotactic surgery appear to be of recent origin, there are precedents in the literature documenting the planting of those seeds that eventually grew into common procedures. Pallidotomy was the first stereotactic procedure in humans that used the Spiegel-Wycis apparatus in 1947. Other targets for Parkinson's disease have their roots in the decade following that. Using stereotactic techniques to target solid or cystic lesions was introduced in the 1950's, when either calcification or pneumoencephalography were necessary to visualize the mass. One of the first uses of computers in surgery was in stereotaxis. Infusion of a neurotransmitter was first done over 30 years ago. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel