title: Ventral surgical approaches to craniovertebral junction chordomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chordomas are primarily malignant tumors encountered at either end of the neural axis; the craniovertebral junction and the sacrococcygeal junction. In this article, we discuss the surgical management of craniovertebral junction chordomas.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this paper, we discuss the surgical management of craniovertebral junction chordomas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following approaches are illustrated: transoral-transpalatopharyngeal approach, high anterior cervical retropharyngeal approach, endoscopic transoral approach, and endoscopic transnasal approach. No single operative approach can be used for all craniovertebral chordomas. Therefore, the location of the tumor dictates which approach or approaches should be used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA. Harmansingh.MD@gmail.com
authors.forename: Harminder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harrop
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schiffmacher
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D001269:Atlanto-Occipital Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001270:Cervical Atlas / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002817:Chordoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009055:Mouth / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000601:surgery; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009777:Occipital Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011859:Radiography; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*