Impact of anterior skull base fracture on lateralized olfactory function

OBJECT This article introduces a classification scheme for extensive traumatic anterior skull base fracture to help stratify surgical treatment options. The authors describe their multilayer repair technique for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak resulting from extensive anterior skull base fracture using a combination of laterally pediculated temporalis fascial-pericranial, nasoseptal-pericranial, and anterior pericranial flaps. METHODS Retrospective chart review identified patients treated surgically between January 2004 and May 2014 for anterior skull base fractures with CSF fistulas. All patients were treated with bifrontal craniotomy and received pedicled tissue flaps. Cases were classified according to the extent of fracture: Class I (frontal bone/sinus involvement only); Class II (extent of involvement to ethmoid cribriform plate); and Class III (extent of involvement to sphenoid bone/sinus). Surgical repair techniques were tailored to the types of fractures. Patients were assessed for CSF leak at follow-up. The Fisher exact test was applied to investigate whether the repair techniques were associated with persistent postoperative CSF leak. RESULTS Forty-three patients were identified in this series. Thirty-seven (86%) were male. The patients’ mean age was 33 years (range 11–79 years). The mean overall length of follow-up was 14 months (range 5–45 months). Six fractures were classified as Class I, 8 as Class II, and 29 as Class III. The anterior pericranial flap alone was used in 33 patients (77%). Multiple flaps were used in 10 patients (3 salvage) (28%)—1 with Class II and 9 with Class III fractures. Five (17%) of the 30 patients with Class II or III fractures who received only a single anterior pericranial flap had persistent CSF leak (p < 0.31). No CSF leak was found in patients who received multiple flaps. Although postoperative CSF leak occurred only in high-grade fractures with single anterior flap repair, this finding was not significant. CONCLUSIONS Extensive anterior skull base fractures often require aggressive treatment to provide the greatest long-term functional and cosmetic benefits. Several vascularized tissue flaps can be used, either alone or in combination. Vascularized flaps are an ideal substrate for cranial base repair. Dual and triple flap techniques that combine the use of various anterior, lateral, and nasoseptal flaps allow for a comprehensive arsenal in multilayered skull base repair and salvage therapy for extensive and severe fractures.

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Supraorbital approach for repair of open anterior skull base fracture

Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics ◽

10.3171/ped.2008.2.12.420 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2 (6) ◽

pp. 420-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Katalin A. Szabo ◽

Samuel H. Cheshier ◽

M. Yashar S. Kalani ◽

Jonathan W. Kim ◽

Raphael Guzman

Keyword(s):

Skull Base ◽

Recovery Time ◽

Anterior Skull Base ◽

Dural Tear ◽

Penetrating Injuries ◽

Skull Base Fracture ◽

Orbital Roof ◽

Supraorbital Approach ◽

Left Eyelid ◽

Orbital Roof Fractures

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of the use of anterior orbitotomy via the supraorbital eyelid crease to repair a dural tear caused by an orbital roof fracture. When transorbital penetrating injuries occur in children, they are commonly caused by accidental falls onto pointed objects. The authors report on their experience with a 7-year-old girl who fell onto a blunt metal rod hanger that penetrated her left eyelid, traversed superior to the eye globe, and penetrated the orbital roof at a depth of 3–4 cm, lacerating the dura mater and entering the cerebrum. An anterior transpalpebral transorbital approach was used to perform the microsurgical anterior skull base and dural repair. The authors advocate the application of this approach to orbital roof fractures because it provides excellent access to the orbital roof, eliminates the need for more invasive craniotomy, results in a small and well-hidden scar in the eye crease, and overall offers a shorter recovery time with less psychological stress to the patient.

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Preservation of olfactory function following endoscopic resection of select malignancies of the nasal vault

Surgical Techniques Development ◽

10.4081/std.2012.e5 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yew Kwang Ong ◽

C. Arturo Solares ◽

Ricardo L. Carrau ◽

Daniel M. Prevedello ◽

Amin B. Kassam

Keyword(s):

Skull Base ◽

Endoscopic Resection ◽

Tumor Resection ◽

Case Series ◽

Anterior Skull Base ◽

Olfactory Function ◽

Lateral Nasal Wall ◽

Retrospective Case ◽

Case Series Study

Preservation of olfactory function during anterior skull base surgery has been previously described. However, its feasibility during oncological resection remains undefined. The aim of this study was to clarify the feasibility of preserving olfactory function in select patients undergoing oncological anterior skull base resection via endonasal endoscopic approach. This is a retrospective case series study. Postoperatively, all patients underwent a standardized smell identification test (Sensonics Inc., Haddon, NJ, USA). From January 2002 to December 2009, we attempted to preserve olfactory function in 9 patients who required an endoscopic resection involving the anterior skull base for treatment of various malignancies presenting unilateral extension. These included: esthesioneuroblastoma (n=6), squamous cell carcinoma (n=1), adenocarcinoma (n=1) and hemangiopericytoma (n=1). In 7 patients, resection included a unilateral endoscopic craniectomy with preservation of the contralateral middle and superior turbinates. Two patients underwent resection of the entire lateral nasal wall and the olfactory epithelium as the superior limit of tumor resection. Six patients received adjuvant radiotherapy. Postoperatively, olfaction was documented in 7 patients (3 normosmic, 4 microsmic). All patients are free of recurrence at the original site at a mean follow-up period of 55.7 months (range 21-101 months). One patient with an esthesioneuroblastoma developed a cervical lymph node recurrence four years after surgery. In selected cases, it is feasible to preserve olfactory function without apparent compromise of oncological outcomes. The success rate depends largely on the extent of the resection, which, in turn, is dictated, by the extent of the tumor.

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