Background. Purely ectopic pituitary adenomas are exceedingly rare. Here we report on a patient that presented with an incidental clival mass thought to be a chordoma. Endonasal resection, tumor pathology, and endocrinology workup revealed a prolactinoma. Case Presentation. A 41-year-old male presented with an incidental clival lesion presumed to be a chordoma. On MRI it involved the entire cli...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Children often present with enlargement of the nasopharyngeal soft tissues, which is usually due to benign hypertrophy of adenoids. The objective of this report is to emphasize that, although rare, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) does occur in children and can be diagnosed reliably when certain key radiographic features are recognized. METHODS The presenting scans of 11 ...

AIM To visualize cranial nerves (CNs) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with special parameters. This study also involved the evaluation of preoperative estimates and intraoperative confirmation of the relationship between nerves and tumor by verifying the accuracy of visualization. MATERIAL AND METHODS 3T magnetic resonance imaging scans including 3D-FSPGR, FIESTA, and DTI were used to co...

AIM Reconstruction technique advances have created renewed enthusiasm for the expanded endonasal approach (EEA). However, as with any new technique, early experiences inevitably lead to more selective use of these techniques. We reviewed our experience of the expanded endonasal endoscopic approach for skull base meningiomas and place it in context of the literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS We pe...

Background Endoscopic endonasal surgery (EES) of the skull base often requires extensive bone work in proximity to critical neurovascular structures. Objective To demonstrate the application of an ultrasonic bone curette during EES. Methods Ten patients with skull base lesions underwent EES from September 2011 to April 2012 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Most of the bone work w...

Background Cholesterol granulomas arising at the petrous apex can be treated via traditional open surgical, endoscopic, and endoscopic-assisted approaches. Endoscopic approaches require access to the sphenoid sinus, which is technically challenging in patients with conchal sphenoidal anatomy. Clinical Presentation A 55-year-old woman presented with intermittent headaches and tinnitus. Formal au...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of multislice 3-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (3D-CTA) in the preoperative assessment of meningiomas. A total of 331 cases with meningiomas confirmed by CT and MRI were examined using 3D-CTA. The locations of the tumors were observed to be as follows: parasagittal and falcine in 125 cases, sphenoidal in 39 cases, in the olf...

INTRODUCTION This study aims to analyze our experience with petrous meningiomas (PM), testing the hypothesis that these tumors have different histologic subtypes and operative outcome depending on the site of origin in reference to the internal auditory canal (IAC). METHODS Fifty-eight patients with PM were reviewed retrospectively. Tumors were classified as posterior (PPM; n = 29), superior ...

BACKGROUND Treatment of skull base tumors is challenging due to limited access and presence of important neurovascular structures nearby. The success of a complete tumor resection depends on the extent of tumor exposure and secure field of view. While these tumors are often removed by transcranial endoscopic access, transfacial approach is sometimes required depending on the location and size o...