petroclival tumors

OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical, radiological, intra-operative, histopathological and molecular factors that might affect the surgical outcome of petroclival meningiomas. METHODS: Medical records of 53 cases of petroclival meningiomas operated from 2003-2021 were reviewed for clinico-radiological and molecular factors which were correlated with extent of resection (EOR). RESULTS: Modified Dolenc-Kawase (MDK) anterior transpetrous rhomboid (44, 83...

BACKGROUND: The surgical ressection of petroclival meningiomas is challenging due to its deep location and relationship with vital neurovascular structures. Usually they are benign injuries, but they can involve or infiltrate skull base bones, dura mater and brainstem. This makes the total removing very difficult or impossible without causing neurological deficits. The objective of this study is to review the surgical approaches used on the treatment of petroclival meningiomas and the knowledge which we achieved upon the surgical management of 30 cases...

INTRODUCTION: The management of retroinfundibular craniopharyngioma (CP) remains the ultimate challenge for both transsphenoidal and open transcranial surgery because of their anatomical location and proximity to vital neurovascular structures. In this report, we aim to describe the technique and feasibility of a novel approach, the purely endoscopic far-lateral supracerebellar infratentorial approach (EF-SCITA), for resection of retroinfundibular CP. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 63-year-old women presented with progressive visual disturbance, polyuria, and spiritlessness of a 3-month duration...

Clear cell meningioma is a rare histological variant of meningioma, which often recurs aggressively. This video demonstrates a patient with a petroclival clear cell meningioma, which was resected completely through the anterior transpetrosal approach. The absence of intratumoral spotty signal voids on preoperative susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) suggested that the tumor was a meningioma rather than a schwannoma, although typical imaging features of meningioma were not observed. After surgery, the patient's preoperative hearing disturbance improved from class D to class A, which the authors had sometimes experienced in cerebellopontine angle meningioma surgeries...

Surgery for petroclival meningioma is challenging because cranial nerve preservation during tumor removal can be very complex. For small- to medium-sized tumors, the anatomical relationship between tumor and neurovascular structures can be assessed before surgery. However, in large tumors, cranial nerves usually cannot be seen in preoperative images. The authors present a case of a 65-year-old woman who presented with gait disturbance and hearing loss and was diagnosed with huge retroclival meningioma involving the cavernous sinus, Meckel's cave, and internal acoustic meatus...

Petroclival meningiomas, which arise from the upper two-thirds of the clivus and are medial to the trigeminal nerve, carry significant surgical risk. Patients whose operations are tailored to maximize tumor resection while minimizing neurological morbidity have favorable outcomes. Subtotally resected tumors can be subsequently considered for radiosurgery in an attempt to limit recurrence. Here the authors report the case of a 40-year-old woman with postpartum trigeminal neuropathy secondary to a petroclival meningioma...

Petroclival meningiomas are challenging lesions that can be treated with several surgical approaches. The authors present a 66-year-old woman with a 1.6-cm left petroclival meningioma that was initially observed and then radiated after it grew 8 years later. Despite radiation, the tumor continued to grow to 4 cm; therefore, the patient was referred to the authors' institution. A left anterior petrosal (Kawase) approach was performed. Postoperatively, the patient had transient cranial nerve IV and VI palsy that improved...

Petroclival meningiomas are surgically challenging tumors because of their deep location and involvement of critical neurovascular structures. A variety of approaches have been described, and selection of approach should be tailored to the location of the tumor relative to neurovascular structures and surgical experience. The authors present two patients with petroclival meningiomas with varying relationships to cranial nerves and skull base anatomy who underwent endoscopic endonasal and open petrosectomy approaches, to demonstrate the complementarity of the endonasal transpetrous and open transpetrosal corridors...

The authors performed an endoscopic endonasal transpetroclival approach for recurrent bilateral petroclival meningioma, with the aim of sufficient tumor resection with cranial nerve functional preservation. The tumor was sufficiently removed with excellent postoperative course. Petroclival meningioma, especially located in the medial region with dural attachment of the clivus, is considered a good indication for this approach. Recurrent tumors after radiotherapy often have strong adhesion to the brainstem and basilar artery; therefore, careful assessment of whether or not tumor detachment is possible is essential...

Petroclival meningiomas represent the most complex lesions in skull base surgery, being closely related to critical neurovascular structures. The combined petrosal approach allows a wide exposure of the petroclival region and provides multiple angles of attack, limiting brain retraction. The authors present the case of a 54-year-old man with a large left petroclival meningioma responsible for headaches, dysphagia, and trigeminal neuralgia. The lesion was resected using a combined petrosal approach. A progressive improvement of the preoperative symptoms was observed...

Petroclival meningiomas are extremally challenging lesions due to their deep location and close relation to critical neurovascular structures. Several approaches have been described to achieve gross-total resection with low morbidity and mortality. In this 2-dimensional operative video, the authors show a simultaneous combined transpetrosal approach. The patient is a 44-year-old woman with an 8-month history of gait imbalance with evidence of a giant petroclival meningioma on neuroimaging. She underwent a combined middle fossa approach with anterior petrosectomy and retrosigmoid/retrolabyrinthine approach to achieve gross-total tumor resection...

A 69-year-old woman with refractory left facial pain and subtle left hearing decline had a 13.0 × 8.1-mm left petrous apex/Meckel's cave meningioma and an 8.8 × 5.6-mm left intracanalicular vestibular schwannoma. She was otherwise neurologically intact. The anterior petrous and middle fossa approaches provide ideal access to these lesions individually, so an extended middle fossa approach was used to resect both in the same setting. She was neurologically stable postoperatively, except for a transient abducens palsy...

Video 1 demonstrates the microsurgical resection of petrous apex meningioma. Even small lesions by general rules are regarded as large due to the delicate nature of anatomic localization. The intricate relationship between the tumor and vascular supply of the brainstem and interposition of cranial nerves makes them challenging lesions to resect.1 A 67-year-old female patient presented with a 6-month history of trigeminal neuralgia in the V2 and V3 branches. She underwent gross total resection of an extraaxial homogenously enhancing dural-based tumor in the right petroclival region, consistent with a large (3-4...

Intracranial trigeminal schwannomas are rare tumors that may extend into multiple cranial compartments and may emerge from the root, ganglion, or intracranial portion of any of its branches.1-6 The aim of this 3-dimensional operative video is to present a single-stage complete removal of a dumbbell-shaped trigeminal schwannoma through a pretemporal approach (Video 1). Informed consent was given by the patient for use of images and the surgical video. We describe the case of a 43-year-old female presenting with chronic headaches and left facial pain in the trigeminal territory of V2 and V3...

Objective: The management of petroclival meningiomas (PCMs) remains notoriously difficult due to their close association with neurovascular structures and their complex anatomy, hence the surgical paradigm change from radical to functional resection in the past. With this study, we aimed to analyze surgical and functional outcomes of a modern consecutive series of patients with PCMs. Methods: We reviewed patient charts and imaging data of 64 consecutive patients from 2006 to 2018 with a PCM resected at our institution and compared surgical and functional outcomes between subgroups stratified by surgical approach...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this retrospective study is the evaluation of risk factors for postoperative neurological deficits after petroclival meningioma (PCM) surgery with special focus on standard craniotomies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One-hundred-fifty-eight patients were included in the study, of which 133 patients suffered from primary and 25 from recurrent PCM. All patients were operated on and evaluated concerning age, tumor size, histology, pre- and postoperative cranial nerve (CN) deficits, morbidity, mortality, and surgical complications...

BACKGROUND: Most petroclival meningiomas are benign tumors, but their neurosurgical treatment is one of the greatest challenges in this field. Acquiring a deep practical knowledge of brain anatomy is the first step on the path to successfully meeting this challenge. To this end, the present paper is divided into two parts. The first regards the microsurgical anatomy and surgical approaches used in the management of petroclival meningiomas. The second correlates the brain anatomies of the 30 cases of petroclival meningiomas which the senior author (GRI) has operated on...

Objective  The aim of this study is to describe surgical management of invasive cavernous sinus meningioma with a combination of skull base approaches. Design  This study is an operative video. Results  Resection of the recurrent skull base meningioma is still challenging, especially if the tumor involves or encases the carotid artery. In this video, we describe our experience with the successful treatment of a recurrent skull base meningioma, which involved the entire cavernous sinus and the internal carotid artery...

Transsynaptic transport is the most accepted proposal to explain the SARS-CoV-2 infection of the CNS. Nevertheless, emerging evidence shows that neurons do not express the SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2, which highlights the importance of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in preventing virus entry to the brain. In this study, we examine the presence of SARS-CoV-2 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and the cytokine profile in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) from two patients with a brain tumor and COVID-19. To determine the BBB damage, we evaluate the Q- albumin index, which is an indirect parameter to assess the permeability of this structure...

Petroclival meningiomas are challenging deep-seated lesions related to many critical neurovascular structures of the skull base.1-5 We present the case of a 45-year-old male presenting with a 3-year history of progressive headache associated gradually with multiple cranial nerves deficits and progressive tetraparesis leading to use of a wheelchair (Video 1) Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a mass highly suggestive of a giant left petroclival meningioma. Considering worsening of symptoms and impressive mass effect, microsurgical resection employing the posterior petrosal approach was performed...