Objectives: A plethora of surgical strategies have been described to reach deeply lesions situated
within the third ventricle, including the Rosenfeld or anterior transcallosal interfoniceal approach
(TAIF). Firstly, introduced in 2001, it consists of a small callosotomy followed by the midline
transseptal dissection of fornices to enter the roof of the third ventricle. The aim of this
microsurgical anatomy study is to describe and show each stage of the surgical procedure, focusing
on the possible trajectories to anatomic landmarks.
Participants: A total of twenty adult cadaveric specimens were used in this study. Using x3 to x40
magnifications the surgical dissection was carried out in a stepwise fashion and the transcallosal
anterior interforniceal approach was performed, analyzed and described.
Results: In five specimens out of ten a cavum septum pellucidum was depicted. In five cases out of
twenty after the callosotomy the lateral ventricular cavities were reached. Different orientation of the
microscope allowed the defining of three surgical trajectories to visualize the region of interest
without exposing important functional areas.
Conclusion: The TAIF represents a minimally invasive approach to the third ventricle; its tricky
surgical steps make appropriate anatomical dissection training, essential to become confident and
skilled in performing this approach