Surgery of the skull base assisted by sinus endoscope]

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility and clinical value of the endoscopic operations around the skull base. METHODS: A retrospective study was made of 44 cases treated by endoscopic operations. Twenty-five cases underwent intranasal endoscopic operations. RESULTS: Forty of 44 cases were cured by one-stage surgery. One case of cartridge foreign body clamped in clivus was not successfully removed; only window operation and puncture biopsy were done in another case of pituitary adenoma; high cranial pressure has not been completely reduced after operation in the third case with relapsing craniopharyngioma a companied with obstructive hydrocephalus. One case of sphenoidal malignant adenoma involving saddle based and extended laterally was partly resected. Complications were follows: cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea in 2 cases, diabetes insipidus in 1 case, all of them were cured by conservative treatment; nasal septum perforation in 1 case, without any treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The endoscopic skull base surgery by intranasal approach is feasibility. Intranasal approach has direct path, slight wound and no wound in face. Combined with operation microscope, sinus endoscope can make up for its limits.