Surgical Outcome in Posterior Fossa Tumours- A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: Posterior fossa tumours are the most common solid tumours in children, while 15 to 20% of adult brain tumour occurs in posterior fossa. Aim: To determine the surgical outcome of posterior fossa tumours. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of 63 patients from all age groups who underwent surgery for posterior fossa tumours in Department of Neurosurgery at Government Medical College, Thrissur, Kerala, India, during March 2015 to February 2020 were included. Surgical outcome in terms of clinical improvement which includes Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), presence or absence of new cranial nerve involvement and radiological assessment of extent of excision was noted with Computed Tomography (CT) scan. Complications which occurred during perioperative period till discharge were noted. Data was presented in terms of frequency and percentages. Statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 was used to analyse data. Results: The mean age was 41.86±21.75 years. A total of 34 (54%) were females and 29 (46%) were males. Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) leak and pseudomeningocele was the most common complication observed. It was noted in 16 (25.39%) patients. Excellent outcome was noted in 8 patients (12.69%), good outcome in 36 (57.14%) patients, acceptable outcome in 15 (23.80%) patients and poor outcome in 4 patients (6.35%). It was observed that 72.22% (26) extra-axial tumours had excellent to good outcome while only 66.66% (18) intra-axial tumours had excellent to good outcome. Conclusion: Surgical outcome in posterior fossa tumours was better in extra-axial tumours. Even with so many technical and surgical advances posterior fossa tumour surgery still carry morbidity.