Oh, brace yourselves, folks, for the riveting tale of the “mini-combined petrosectomy,” the latest blockbuster in the world of brain surgery. It’s a real nail-biter, where surgeons play a high-stakes game of Operation, navigating through a labyrinth of bone without touching the sides—because, you know, the sides are actually critical neurovascular structures.

Before the main event, our heroes must embark on an epic quest through the mystical lands of preoperative imaging. Armed with a CT scan, an MRI, and—for that extra sprinkle of drama—a digital subtraction angiography, they plot their course with the precision of a cartographer mapping uncharted territories.

The first act of this surgical drama features a cameo by the labyrinth, which our surgeons drill with the finesse of a sculptor, careful not to awaken the Minotaur within. The audience is then treated to a step-by-step tutorial, complete with a video—because who reads instruction manuals these days, right?

As the plot thickens, the dura mater is opened, the tentorium is cut, and—voilà!—the tumor is vanquished, revealing a panoramic view of the brain’s inner celebrities: the cranial nerves, the pituitary stalk, and the major arteries, all signing autographs after the show.

But wait, there’s more! In a twist no one saw coming, the second act extends the excitement to the anterior fossa. Here, our surgeons go full Indiana Jones, navigating a transsylvian approach to tackle a giant sphenopetroclival meningioma. It’s a crossover episode that has critics raving.

And, of course, what’s a medical drama without the obligatory nod to patient consent? Yes, the patients signed off on this adventure, and even the cadavers gave a thumbs up from beyond the grave.

So, there you have it, folks. A surgical saga that’s part thriller, part educational film, and a testament to the fact that, in the world of neurosurgery, the only thing sharper than the instruments is the planning.