Management of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks After Acoustic Tumor Removal

2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (suppl_3) ◽  
pp. ONS-35-ONS-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick A. Friedman ◽  
Robert D. Cullen ◽  
Jeffrey Ulis ◽  
Derald E. Brackmann

Abstract Objective: To present a logical algorithm for management of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak that occurs after acoustic tumor removal, and to describe a method for eustachian tube resection. Clinical Presentation: We present an algorithm in the form of a flow chart, describe middle fossa craniotomy for eustachian tube resection, and present three cases in which this technique was used. Technique: For CSF leak, pressure dressing at the wound and bed rest for the patient are advised; lumbar drain is indicated if the leak does not resolve. Occasionally, wound exploration is required. CSF rhinorrhea is treated first with a lumbar drain. If this approach is unsuccessful, the choice of treatment depends on the patient's hearing status. If a patient has no hearing, we perform a blind sac closure of the ear canal and pack the eustachian tube. If a patient has hearing, wound reexploration and lumbar drainage are advised. When conservative and initial surgical procedures for resolving CSF leak fail, we perform a middle fossa craniotomy to identify, divide, and remove a segmental portion of the cartilaginous eustachian tube and then cauterize and occlude both ends. Conclusion: At centers where surgical removal of acoustic tumors is frequently performed, a logical protocol should be in place for treatment of postoperative CSF leak. The leak location and the patient's hearing status are factors in determining the appropriate treatment method. Middle fossa craniotomy for resection of the eustachian tube is a safe, definitive management option for treatment of recalcitrant CSF rhinorrhea that occurs after acoustic tumor surgery.

Neurosurgery ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 885-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel F. Kelly ◽  
R. Jamshid Oskouian ◽  
Igor Fineman

Abstract OBJECTIVE Repair of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak created at the time of transsphenoidal surgery typically involves placement of a fat, fascial, or muscle graft and sellar floor reconstruction. In this report, a simplified repair for small, “weeping” CSF leaks using collagen sponge is described. METHODS All patients underwent an endonasal transsphenoidal procedure using the operating microscope. At the completion of tumor removal, if a small CSF leak was noted but no obvious large arachnoidal defect was present, a piece of collagen sponge was fashioned to cover the exposed diaphragma sellae. Titanium mesh was then wedged into the intrasellar, extradural space and a larger piece of collagen was placed over the reconstructed sellar floor. Nasal packing was removed within 24 hours. RESULTS During an 18-month period, 62 consecutive transsphenoidal procedures were performed for tumor removal. Of 20 patients with a small CSF leak (18 pituitary adenomas, 1 Rathke's cleft cyst, and 1 chordoma), all had successful repair with collagen sponge. At follow-up examinations at 1 to 18 months, no patient had required a lumbar drain or had developed meningitis. One other patient had a large intraoperative arachnoidal defect that was unsuccessfully repaired with the collagen sponge technique; in this patient, a second operation was required with a fat graft, sellar floor reconstruction, and lumbar drainage. CONCLUSION A simplified repair of small CSF leaks after transsphenoidal surgery using a two-layered collagen sponge technique with sellar floor reinforcement is thought to be safe and effective and obviates the need for tissue grafts, fibrin glue, or lumbar drain placement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Ajay Choudhary ◽  
◽  
Rahul Varshney ◽  
Pushkar Ranade ◽  
Kaviraj Kaushik ◽  
...  

Background and Aim: The major concerns related to the Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal (EET) surgery for sellar and suprasellar tumors include the risks of post-operative Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) leak, leading to morbidity and at times mortality, due to severe meningitis. Time is required to develop possible preventive measures that can reduce the risk of post-operative CSF rhinorrhea. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of pre-operative CSF diversion by lumbar drainage in EET tumor surgeries on preventing post-operative CSF leak and its effect on the length of hospital stay. Methods and Materials/Patients: We conducted a prospective study on 20 patients with a pituitary tumor that underwent EET surgery between October 2018 and December 2019. Preoperative Lumbar Drain (LD) was inserted after induction in all explored patients. The tumor was excised with continuous intraoperative CSF drainage. Post-operatively, the LD was kept for 3 days and clamped for the next 24 hours. If no evidence of CSF rhinorrhea was present, it was removed. Complications related to CSF drainage, CSF leak, and hospital stays were evaluated. Results: Our study population consisted of 13(65%) men and 7(35%) women, with Mean±SD age of 39.8±10.71 years. The most commonly presented complaint was visual disturbance (60%) and the least common symptom was urinary disturbance (5%). The intra-operative leak was detected in 9(45%) patients, while the post-operative leak was present in only 1(5%) patient. LD blockage significantly contributed to post-operative CSF leak (P=0.001). The Mean±SD hospital stay in the post-operative period was 8.85±3.22 days with 65% of patients having a hospital stay of <7 days. Other post-operative complications (e.g. diabetes insipidus, electrolyte imbalance, and hormonal disturbances) were mainly responsible for prolonged post-operative hospital stay (P=0.001). Conclusion: Pre-operative LD, apart from helping to reduce the incidence of post-operative CSF leak, is not associated with an overall increased post-operative hospital stay.


Skull Base ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belachew Tessema ◽  
Elias Eter ◽  
Fred Telischi ◽  
Jacques Morcos ◽  
Roy Casiano

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. House ◽  
Clough Shelton

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1376-1377
Author(s):  
Razvan Hainarosie ◽  
Teodora Ghindea ◽  
Irina Gabriela Ionita ◽  
Mura Hainarosie ◽  
Cristian Dragos Stefanescu ◽  
...  

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea represents drainage of cerebrospinal fluid into the nasal cavity. The first steps in diagnosing CSF rhinorrhea are a thorough history and physical examination of the patient. Other diagnostic procedures are the double ring sign, glucose content of the nasal fluid, Beta-trace protein test or beta 2-transferrin. To establish the exact location of the defect imagistic examinations are necessary. However, the gold standard CSF leakage diagnostic method is an intrathecal injection of fluorescein with the endoscopic identification of the defect. In this paper we analyze a staining test, using Methylene Blue solution, to identify the CSF leak�s location.


1998 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 588-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick A. Friedman ◽  
Derald E. Brackmann ◽  
Dawna Mills

1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 677-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven K. Gudeman ◽  
Humbert G. Sullivan ◽  
Michael J. Rosner ◽  
Donald P. Becker

✓ The authors report a patient with bilateral papillomas of the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricles with documentation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypersecretion causing hydrocephalus. Special attention is given to the large volume of CSF produced by these tumors (removal of one tumor reduced CSF outflow by one-half) and to the fact that CSF diversion was not required after both tumors were removed. Since tumor removal alone was sufficient to stop the progression of hydrocephalus, we feel that this case supports the concept that elevated CSF production by itself is sufficient to cause hydrocephalus in patients with papillomas of the choroid plexus.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johnson Ku ◽  
Chieh-Yi Chen ◽  
Jason Ku ◽  
Hsuan-Kan Chang ◽  
Jau-Ching Wu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Nasal swab tests are one of the most essential tools for screening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The authors report a rare case of iatrogenic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak from the anterior skull base after repeated nasal swab tests for COVID-19, which was treated with endoscopic endonasal repair. OBSERVATIONS A 41-year-old man presented with clear continuous rhinorrhea through his left nostril for 5 days after repeated nasal swabbing for COVID-19. There were no obvious risk factors for spontaneous CSF leak. Computed tomography cisternography showed contrast accumulation in the left olfactory fossa and along the left nasal cavity. Such findings aligned with a preliminary diagnosis of CSF leakage through the left cribriform plate. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the presence of a CSF fistula between his left cribriform plate and superior nasal concha. The patient underwent endoscopic endonasal repair. CSF rhinorrhea ceased after the surgery, and no recurrence was noted during the 12-week postoperative follow-up period. LESSONS Although rare, iatrogenic CSF leakage can be a serious complication following COVID-19 nasal swab tests, especially when infection may cause significant neurological sequelae. Healthcare providers should become familiar with nasal cavity anatomy and be well trained in performing nasal swab tests.


2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben A. Strickland ◽  
Joshua Lucas ◽  
Brianna Harris ◽  
Edwin Kulubya ◽  
Joshua Bakhsheshian ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVECerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is among the most common complications following transsphenoidal surgery for sellar region lesions. The aim of this study was to review the authors’ institutional experience in identifying, repairing, and treating CSF leaks associated with direct endonasal transsphenoidal operations.METHODSThe authors performed a retrospective review of cases involving surgical treatment of pituitary adenomas and other sellar lesions at the University of Southern California between December 1995 and March 2016. Inclusion criteria included all pathology of the sellar region approached via a direct microscopic or endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach. Demographics, pathology, intraoperative and postoperative CSF leak rates, and other complications were recorded and analyzed. A literature review of the incidence of CSF leaks associated with the direct endonasal transsphenoidal approach to pituitary lesions was conducted.RESULTSA total of 1002 patients met the inclusion criteria and their cases were subsequently analyzed. Preoperative diagnoses included pituitary adenomas in 855 cases (85.4%), Rathke’s cleft cyst in 94 (9.4%), and other sellar lesions in 53 (5.2%). Lesions with a diameter ≥ 1 cm made up 49% of the series. Intraoperative repair of an identified CSF leak was performed in 375 cases (37.4%) using autologous fat, fascia, or both. An additional 92 patients (9.2%) underwent empirical sellar reconstruction without evidence of an intraoperative CSF leak. Postoperative CSF leaks developed in 26 patients (2.6%), including 13 (1.3% of the overall group) in whom no intraoperative leak was identified. Among the 26 patients who developed a postoperative CSF leak, 13 were noted to have intraoperative leak and underwent sellar repair while the remaining 13 did not have an intraoperative leak or sellar repair. No patients who underwent empirical sellar repair without an intraoperative leak developed a postoperative leak. Eight patients underwent additional surgery (0.8% reoperation rate) for CSF leak repair, and 18 were successfully treated with lumbar drainage or lumbar puncture alone. The incidence of postoperative CSF rhinorrhea in this series was compared with that in 11 other reported series that met inclusion criteria, with incidence rates ranging between 0.6% and 12.1%.CONCLUSIONSIn this large series, half of the patients who developed postoperative CSF rhinorrhea had no evidence of intraoperative CSF leakage. Unidentified intraoperative CSF leaks and/or delayed development of CSF fistulas are equally important sources of postoperative CSF rhinorrhea as the lack of employing effective CSF leak repair methods. Empirical sellar reconstruction in the absence of an intraoperative CSF leak may be of benefit following resection of large tumors, especially if the arachnoid is thinned out and herniates into the sella.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Castelnuovo ◽  
Silvia Mauri ◽  
Davide Locatelli ◽  
Enzo Emanuelli ◽  
Giovanni Delù ◽  
...  

Endoscopic repair of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is becoming a common procedure. The purpose of this study was to perform a literature analysis centering cases of treatment failure and to review our 31 cases with a 1-year minimum follow-up. An extensive search of the literature was conducted, which focused on success rate, follow-up, diagnostic techniques, graft material used, failure rate, and comments on failures. A retrospective analysis of our 31 patients was carried out, and all cases were treated with the endoscopic approach with a 1-year minimum follow-up. From the literature analysis, the median success rate at the first endoscopic attempt is 90%. Our success rate was 87.1%. Failures were analyzed. A unique protocol for CSF leak diagnosis does not exist; we suggest our diagnostic algorithm. Graft material used depends on the authors’ experience, and based on this review of cases to date, did not significantly influence the success rate. The analysis of cases of failure shows that the majority of authors omit details. More research is needed to improve prevention of failures.


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