Treatment
Surgery is the first treatment of choice, aiming at the fullest possible surgical removal of the tumor. In case of tumors which grow in vital structures, this is not always radical. In modern skull base surgery, the endoscope is becoming increasingly important and is more and more used for various diseases. New generations of endoscopes allow the neurosurgeon to use these tools and their excellent light quality and optical resolution during microsurgical operations. The combination of these advantages is called "endoscopic-assisted microsurgery".
Some important advantages of the endoscopic system are:
- A better illumination of the surgical field
- "Wide view" and the ability to "see around the corner”
- Lower invasiveness by reducing the need for retraction of important adjacent structures
Depending on the type of tumor a subsequent post-treatment, if necessary, by irradiation or chemotherapy may be necessary. The prognosis depends on the type of tumor or in case of metastases on the prognosis of the underlying disease.
Images from the operating room: The microsurgical surgery (left) and usage of the endoscope within the endoscopic-assisted microsurgical procedure during an operation in the area of the posterior fossa (right).
