Skull base surgery for removal of temporal bone tumors.
CONCLUSIONS
When selecting the appropriate surgical approach the pathological type of tumor, the physiological status as well as the functional aspects should be considered. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each surgical technique and knowledge of the particular tumor biology facilitates selection of the most appropriate surgical approach and a successful outcome.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to review cases that underwent skull base surgery for a variety of tumors that involved the temporal bone. We reviewed a single center's 25-year experience for epidemiologic characteristics, symptoms, treatment type and outcomes.


METHODS
The medical records and radiological images of 91 patients, who underwent skull base surgery, were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
Among the 91 patients, 61 cases had benign disease and 30 had malignancies. A facial nerve schwannoma was the most common benign intratemporal tumor and a squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignant tumor. With the facial nerve schwannoma, facial nerve paralysis and hearing loss were the most common presenting complaints; otalgia was the most common presenting symptom for temporal bone cancer. For patients with a glomus tumor, there was a characteristic pulsating tinnitus. A majority of the facial nerve schwannomas were resectable through the transmastoid approach. The infratemporal fossa approach type A was usually required for lower cranial nerve schwannomas and glomus jugulare tumors. However, the fallopian bridge technique with hypotympanectomy was another surgical option. Partial temporal bone resection and subtotal temporal bone resections were performed in cases with temporal bone cancer. The disease free 5-year survival of the temporal bone cancers was 42% and for the squamous cell carcinomas, it was 44%.
Kim
Chong-Sun
CS
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Yongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul, South Korea. chongkim@snu.ac.kr
Suh
Myung-Whan
MW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002558:Cerebrospinal Fluid Otorrhea / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003390:Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D004244:Dizziness / Q000209:etiology; D004433:Earache / Q000209:etiology; D005155:Facial Nerve Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005918:Glomus Tumor / Q000098:blood supply / Q000601:surgery; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology; D006685:Hoarseness / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000601:surgery; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019291:Skull Base / Q000601:surgery*; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000601:surgery*; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000209:etiology; D014717:Vertigo / Q000209:etiology