Temporal bone dissection for neurosurgery residents: identifying the essential concepts and fundamental techniques for success.
BACKGROUND
Many contemporary neurosurgery residents, cordoned by work hour restrictions and drawn to newer technologies such as endovascular therapy, lack the proper direction necessary to learn the essentials of temporal bone dissection. A thorough knowledge of temporal bone anatomy combined with guidance regarding proper surgical technique makes temporal bone dissection an efficacious and fundamental learning activity. There is currently no concise guide for neurosurgical training programs to use in teaching the essentials of this dissection.


METHODS
Over several years, the authors worked with neurosurgery residents to determine the key concepts necessary to gain a fundamental working knowledge of temporal bone dissection.


RESULTS
We have identified 5 essential surgical principles and developed a step-by-step dissection technique useful for neurosurgery residents.


CONCLUSIONS
Using this template, neurosurgery residents can make the most of their time in the skull base laboratory, becoming familiar with relevant temporal bone anatomy in situ and becoming facile with the surgical techniques necessary for its safe dissection.
Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60622, USA.
Edward A M
EA
Duckworth
Fernando E
FE
Silva
James P
JP
Chandler
H Hunt
HH
Batjer
Jin-cheng
JC
Zhao
D004210:Dissection / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000193:education*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*