Combined and staged retrosigmoid, extended middle fossa, and endoscopic transnasal approach to a petroclival chondrosarcoma: how I do it.

Abstract

Tumors of the petroclival region with multicompartment extension can be difficult to address with a single surgical approach. We present the case of a patient with a large chondrosarcoma centered at the right petroclival fissure with extension into the cavernous sinus, the region beneath the cavernous sinus, cerebellopontine angle with deformation of the pons, and prevertebral space. A staged complete resection was performed using a stage 1 single-incision combined right retrosigmoid craniotomy and extended middle fossa craniotomy, followed by a stage 2 endoscopic transnasal approach. A combined approach to selected petroclival tumors can maximize safe resection.