Article

Neuronavigation using an image-guided endoscopic transnasal-sphenoethmoidal approach to clival chordomas.

Department of Neurosurgery, The Alfred Hospital, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Neurosurgery (impact factor: 2.79). 12/2007; 61(5 Suppl 2):212-7; discussion 217-8. DOI:10.1227/01.neu.0000303219.55393.fe pp.212-7; discussion 217-8
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Surgical approaches described for resection of clival tumors have been complicated, extensive, traumatic, and invasive. They are also associated with significant mortality and morbidity rates. We describe a minimally invasive, endoscopic transsphenoidal surgical treatment for clival tumors.
Three men, aged 43, 46, and 66 years, each presented with a history of headaches, diplopia, and multiple cranial nerve deficits. All preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans showed large clival tumors. A neuronavigational image-guided endoscopic transnasal-sphenoethmoidal approach was performed to resect the clival tumors.
All three patients had near-total removal of clival tumors using this method, and the histology revealed chordomas. They underwent postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy. No complications were encountered. All patients were able to resume their usual activities on the same day after surgery. Furthermore, this technique greatly reduced patient discomfort, hastened recovery, and shortened the hospital stay.
The neuronavigation image-guided transsphenoidal approach is a viable, minimally invasive alternative for surgical treatment of clival tumors.

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    Article: Endoscopic endonasal transclival resection of chordomas: operative technique, clinical outcome, and review of the literature.
    Justin F Fraser, Gurston G Nyquist, Nicholas Moore, Vijay K Anand, Theodore H Schwartz
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    ABSTRACT: Transcranial approaches to clival chordomas provide a circuitous route to the site of origin of the tumor often involving extensive bone drilling and brain retraction, which places critical neurovascular structures between the surgeon and pathology. For certain chordomas, the endonasal endoscopic transclival approach is a novel minimal access, but it is an equally aggressive alternative providing the most direct route to the tumor epicenter. The authors present a consecutive series of patients undergoing endonasal endoscopic resection of clival chordomas. Extent of resection was determined by postoperative volumetric MR imaging and divided into > 95% and < 95%. Seven patients underwent 10 operations. Preoperative cranial neuropathies were present in 4. The mean patient age was 52.0 years. The mean tumor volume was 34.9 cm3. Intraoperative lumbar drainage was used in 1 patient, and the tumors extended intradurally in 3. One patient underwent 2 intentionally palliative procedures for subtotal debulking. Greater than 95% resection was achieved in 7 of 8 operations in which radical resection was the goal (87%). All tumors with volumes < 50 cm3 had > 95% resection (p = 0.05). The overall mean follow-up was 18.0 months. Cranial neuropathies resolved in all 3 patients with cranial nerve VI palsies. One patient with recurrent nasopharyngeal chordoma died of disease progression; another experienced 2 recurrences before receiving radiation therapy. All surviving patients remain progression free. There were no intraoperative complications; however, 1 patient developed a pulmonary embolus postoperatively. There were no postoperative CSF leaks. The endonasal endoscopic transclival approach represents a less invasive and more direct approach than a transcranial approach to treat certain moderate-sized midline skull base chordomas. Longer follow-up is necessary to determine comparability to transcranial approaches for long-term control. Large tumors with significant extension lateral to the carotid artery may not be suitable for this approach.
    Journal of Neurosurgery 08/2009; 112(5):1061-9. · 2.96 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

clival tumors
 
endoscopic transsphenoidal surgical treatment
 
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minimally invasive
 
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morbidity rates
 
multiple cranial nerve deficits
 
neuronavigation image-guided transsphenoidal approach
 
neuronavigational image-guided endoscopic transnasal-sphenoethmoidal approach
 
patient discomfort
 
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postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy
 
preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans
 
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Surgical approaches
 
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usual activities