Anterior Skull Base Tumors: The Role of Transfacial Approaches in the Endoscopic Era.

Abstract

The basis of craniofacial tumor surgery is complete surgical extirpation, preferably en bloc or with free borders. Craniofacial techniques are the gold standard and primary strategies in the treatment of anterior skull base tumors. In the last decade, the reports favoring results of endoscopic techniques have increased. One could conclude that the classical transfacial approaches might become useless, but, in fact, there is little research comparing these techniques.In this article, the authors present their experience with combined craniofacial resection of anterior craniofacial skull base tumors in 9 consecutive patients between January 2013 and July 2015. This article aims to review some of the traditional transfacial approaches, illustrating them with this series of surgical patients. Benefits and drawbacks of these approaches are discussed.