The temporo-parietal fascial flap in extended transnasal endoscopic procedures: cadaver dissection and personal clinical experience.

Due to progressively expanded indications of endoscopic transnasal surgery, having different reconstructive options in the armamentarium becomes of paramount importance. We herein report our experience with the use of the temporo-parietal fascial flap after extended endoscopic procedures for malignancies of the clival and nasopharyngeal regions. We focus our report on the surgical anatomy of this flap and the technique for its intranasal transposition through an infratemporal corridor. The main steps of the procedure and anatomic landmarks were highlighted, thanks to previous cadaver dissection. Five patients underwent an extended endoscopic resection for malignant tumors: one with persistent clival chordoma, three with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinomas, and 1 recurrent nasopharyngeal adenoid cystic carcinoma. In all patients a temporo-parietal fascial flap was harvested to protect critical structures or irradiated denuded bone. The Mean harvesting and hospitalization time were 120 min and 5 days, respectively. No major or minor complications were observed. Whenever local flaps are not available for oncologic reasons or previous surgery, the temporo-parietal fascial flap is a safe and relatively easy option to protect the residual skull base and critical structures such as the internal carotid artery and dura of the posterior cranial fossa, after extended endoscopic resections.

Limitations and complications of endoscopic surgery for treatment for sinonasal inverted papilloma: a reassessment after 212 cases.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to define the optimal surgical strategy for sinonasal inverted papilloma in relation to the site of origin and tumor extent. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients affected by inverted papilloma treated by purely endoscopic or combined approaches at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the University of Brescia and Pavia-Varese from November 1991 to December 2007. RESULTS: Two hundred twelve patients were considered eligible for this study. An exclusive endoscopic approach was performed in 198 patients (93.4%); the remaining 14 patients (6.6%) underwent an endoscopic approach combined with an osteoplastic frontal flap. Follow-up ranged from 24 to 192 months (mean, 53.8 months). A single recurrence was observed in 12 patients (5.7%). Twenty complications (9.4%) were observed. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic surgery is the first choice in the treatment of inverted papilloma; only lesions with extensive involvement of frontal sinus and/or supraorbital cell may require a combined approach. A minimum follow-up of 5 years is recommended.

Endoscopic transnasal craniectomy in the management of selected sinonasal malignancies.

BACKGROUND: Because of a better understanding of the anatomy from an endoscopic perspective, the acquisition of surgical experience, and concomitant technological advances, endoscopic resection of the anterior skull base (ASB) and overlying dura has now become a reality, opening new possibilities in the management of sinonasal malignancies. Here, the authors review a series of 62 patients, the largest reported to date, who underwent endoscopic transnasal craniectomy (ETC) and endoscopic dural repair for the management of selected sinonasal malignancies. Special emphasis is placed on the surgical technique, technical tricks, choice of materials for endoscopic dural repair, postoperative management, and complications. METHODS: From 2004, 62 patients underwent ETC at two referral hospitals, which extended anteroposteriorly from the frontal sinus to planum sphenoidale and laterolaterally from the nasal septum to the lamina papyracea (unilateral resection, n = 28; 45%) or from papyracea to papyracea (bilateral resection, n = 34; 55%). Duraplasty with a three-layer technique was performed using the iliotibial tract and fat tissue. RESULTS: The most frequent histotypes were adenocarcinoma (58%) and olfactory neuroblastoma (22%). Forty-five (73%) patients were previously untreated. The incidence of early (T1-2, Kadish A-B) and advanced (T3-4, Kadish C) tumors was similar. The complication rate was 15%, mostly cerebrospinal fluid leaks (13%). Its prevalence did not correlate with patient age, medical comorbidities, previous treatment, presence of ASB involvement, or whether ETC was mono- or bilateral, but tended to correlate with advanced tumor stage, dural involvement, and the period of treatment. After a mean follow-up of 17.5 months (range, 1-54 months), 58 (94%) patients had no evidence of disease. CONCLUSION: In correctly selected patients with sinonasal tumors involving the ASB, ETC offers a less invasive alternative than resection by an open approach with an acceptable morbidity.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis: a rare occurrence in the sinonasal tract.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is a systemic reaction to inadequate hematopoiesis. We report two exceedingly rare cases of EMH involving the paranasal sinuses. The first patient, a 30-year-old man, presented with a maxillary sinus mass. The lesion was excised by endoscopic surgery: definitive histology identified foci of EMH within an inflammatory fibromyxoid pseudotumor. The second case occurred in a 29-year-old man affected by intermediate beta-thalassemia. He was hospitalized with a diagnosis of sphenoid sinus mucocele secondary to an ethmoid lesion. The patient underwent endoscopic excision of the mass and drainage of the sphenoid mucocele. At definitive histology, a diagnosis of EMH was established. Herein, the presenting modalities, imaging profile, and treatment options of this rare EMH localization are reviewed.