Surgical treatment of craniopharyngiomas. Part I. Experience with 168 patients

Abstract

The surgical management of 168 consecutive patients harboring craniopharyngiomas treated between January 1983 and April 1997 is described. In 148 patients undergoing initial (primary) surgery, the pterional approach was most frequently used (39.2%) followed by the transsphenoidal approach (23.6%). For large retrochiasmatic craniopharyngiomas, the bifrontal interhemispheric approach was used increasingly over the pterional approach and led to improved surgical results. Total tumor removal was accomplished in 45.7% of transcranial and 85.7% of transsphenoidal procedures. The main reasons for incomplete removal were attachment and/or infiltration of the hypothalamus, major calcifications, and attachment to vascular structures. The success rate in total tumor removal was inferior in the cases of tumor recurrence. The operative mortality rate in transcranial surgery was 1.1% in primary cases and 10.5% in cases of tumor recurrence. No patient died in the group undergoing transsphenoidal surgery. The rate of rec...