Indocyanine green video-angiography in neurosurgery: a glance beyond vascular applications

Objective: Indocyanine green video angiography (ICG-VA) is a non invasive, easy to use and a very useful tool for various neurosurgical procedures. Initially introduced in vascular neurosurgery since 2003, it's applications have broadened over time, both in vascular applications and in other neurosurgical fields. The objective of our study is to review all published literature about ICG-VA, cataloguing its different applications.

Methods: A systematic review of all pertinent literature articles published from January 2003 to May 2014 using Pubmed access was performed using pertinent keywords; cross check of references of selected articles was performed in order to complete bibliographical research. Results of research were grouped by pathology.

Results and conclusions: The paper systematically analyses ICG-VA different applications in neurosurgery, from vascular neurosurgery to tumor resection and endoscopic applications, focusing on reported advantages and disadvantages, and discussing future perspectives.