Total Petrosectomy for the Total Resection of Sphenopetroclival Meningioma: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

Sphenopetroclival meningioma is a most formidable meningioma. Many patients have few preoperative deficits and surgery has the potential of severe neurological complications. Surgical treatment is challenging due to brainstem compression, the involvement of multiple cranial nerves and cerebral vessels. Wide tumor exposure, multiple dissection axis, and short distance are paramount factors in the quest of achieving total removal of Simpson grade I, including the involved dura and bone. The posterior petrosal, transtentorial presigmoid approach offers a wide and shallow operative field.1-7 When the patient has hearing loss, extending the resection of the temporal bone provides unmatchable exposure facilitating safer and more complete tumor removal. This article demonstrates the removal of a sphenopetroclival meningioma through total petrosectomy with closing of the external auditory canal and preservation of the facial nerve in the Fallopian canal. A total resection of the tumor was achieved with long-term preservation of cranial nerve function. The surgical steps of total petrosectomy are shown, including the skin flap, combined middle and posterior fossa craniotomy, skeletonization of the sigmoid transverse sinus, radical mastoidectomy, dissection of the Fallopian canal, and drilling of the labyrinth, cochlea, and petrous apex for superb exposure.8 We demonstrate the intra-arachnoidal microsurgical dissection utilized for the radical resection of petroclival meningioma. This surgery performed in 1995 is a testament to the time-tested technique. The patient consented to the procedure and image use. Images at 1:33 and 3:57 © Ossama Al-Mefty, used with permission.

Trautmann-focused mastoidectomy for a simple, safe presigmoid approach: technical note

The presigmoid approach (PSA) is selected to obtain more lateral access to cerebellopontine angle tumors, brainstem cavernous malformations, or vertebrobasilar artery aneurysms than the standard retrosigmoid approach. However, mastoidectomy for the PSA can be considered time-consuming and to carry a higher risk of complications due to the anatomical complexity of the region. The authors established a method of minimized mastoidectomy focused on exposing Trautmann’s triangle as the corridor for the PSA while maximizing procedural simplicity and safety and maintaining a sufficient operative view. The authors present their method of minimized mastoidectomy in a cadaver dissection and operative cases, showing potential as a useful option for the PSA.

Presigmoid Approach to Dumbbell Trigeminal Schwannoma

This case is a 15-year-old male, presenting with headaches, right face, and arm numbness, and ataxia. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) revealed a large right sided dumbbell shaped lesion, extending into the middle and posterior fossa with compression of the brainstem consistent with a trigeminal schwannoma. Treatment options here would be a retrosigmoid suprameatal approach or a lateral presigmoid approach. Given the tumor extension into multiple compartments, a presigmoid craniotomy, combining a middle fossa approach with anterior petrosectomy, and retrolabyrinthine approach with posterior petrosectomy were used to maximize the direct access corridor for resection. The petrous apex was already expanded and remodeled by the tumor. Nerve fascicles preservation technique is paramount to the functional preservation of the trigeminal nerve. The extent of resection should be weighed against the anatomical functional integrity of the nerve. Near total resection is considered if that means more nerve preservation. Postoperatively, the patient had a slight (House–Brackman grade II) facial droop, which resolved over days and developed right trigeminal hypesthesia at several weeks. This case is presented to demonstrate a combined petrosectomy technique for resection of lesions extending into both the middle and posterior cranial fossa with near total resection and trigeminal nerve preservation.The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/kA9GyFhL1dg.