The safety of the intraoperative sacrifice of the deep cerebral veins.

BACKGROUND: The effect of surgically ligating the deep cerebral veins is often thought to be of significant risk. That concern and the paucity of information on surgery of the deep venous system confound surgical decision making when operations involve manipulation of the deep cerebral veins. DISCUSSION: The authors review the human and animal literature on the selective sacrifice of the deep cerebral veins. Robust experimental studies and limited clinical experience indicate that occlusion of one or several deep cerebral veins is generally safe.