Surgical outcomes and safety of transnasal endoscopic resection for anterior skull tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To report the surgical outcomes and safety of transnasal endoscopic resection (TER) for anterior skull base (ASB) tumors.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective chart review to identify patients undergoing TER for ASB tumors at a tertiary care medical center between September 1997 and June 2006.

RESULTS: Nineteen patients underwent TER for ASB tumors without open craniotomy. There were 17 malignant and two benign lesions. Olfactory neuroblastoma was the most common pathology, occurring in 53 percent of patients. One patient recurred locally, resulting in an overall local control rate of 94.7 percent for all neoplasms and 94.1 percent for malignant disease. It should be noted that the tumor control rate may be premature given the small sample size and limited follow-up. Overall, there were 16 complications, but only two of these, an orbital hematoma and a frontal lobe abscess, were considered major complications directly attributable to surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: TER for ASB tumors appears to be safe in properly selected patients. In light of the small sample size and limited follow-up, the major complication rate directly attributable to surgery was 11 percent, and the overall local control rate was 95 percent. A larger multi-institutional series with longer follow-up is warranted.