Devia DA, Graffeo CS, Benner D, Scherschinski L, Thomas G, Koester SW, Srinivasan VM, Lawton MT. Experience and Balance: Long-Term Trends in Preferred Skull Base Approach for a Case Series of Cavernous Malformation Resections.
Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2023:01787389-990000000-00684. [PMID:
37083737 DOI:
10.1227/ons.0000000000000718]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Skull base approaches are a foundation of modern cerebrovascular surgery; however, their application over time has varied.
OBJECTIVE
To assess trends in skull base approach selection for cavernous malformation (CM) resection.
METHODS
This is a retrospective case series of all first-time CM resections by a single surgeon from 1997 to 2021. Cases were classified by craniotomy and approach. Four sets of common comparator skull base approaches were identified by coauthor consensus: pterional and orbitozygomatic; retrosigmoid, extended retrosigmoid (xRS), and far-lateral; suboccipital and torcular; and trans-cerebellar peduncle (MCP) and transcerebellopontine angle. Counts were binned by 5-year or 10-year clusters for descriptive statistical assessment of temporal trends.
RESULTS
In total, 372 primary CM resections met the study criteria and were included. Orbitozygomatic approach use increased during the second 5-year period, after which the pterional approach rapidly became and remained the preferred approach. During the first two 5-year periods, the far-lateral approach was preferred to the retrosigmoid and xRS approaches, but the xRS approach grew in popularity and accounted for >50% of operations in this comparator group. Trans-MCP use compared with the transcerebellopontine angle approach closely mirrored the change in xRS use. The midline suboccipital approach accounted for a larger proportion (range, 62%-88%) of cases than the torcular approach (range, 12%-38%) across all periods.
CONCLUSION
The xRS and trans-MCP approaches have been increasingly used over time, while the orbitozygomatic and far-lateral approaches have become less common. These trends seem to reflect versatility, efficiency, and safety of these techniques.
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