title: Endoscopic endonasal management of trigeminal schwannomas extending into the infratemporal fossa.
abstract: Extracranial trigeminal schwannomas extending into the infratemporal fossa are rare. The traditional surgical approaches to the infratemporal fossa are associated with complications, such as facial nerve dysfunction, hearing loss, dental malocclusion and cosmetic problems. We report eight patients (four males, four females, age range=31-62 years) who were treated between 2004 and 2009 for extracranial trigeminal schwannomas extending into the infratemporal fossa. Schwannomas were surgically removed using a purely endoscopic endonasal approach. The maximum diameters of the tumours ranged from 30 mm to 70 mm and all tumours were completely removed. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications in this series. There were no recurrences during the follow-up period which ranged from 10 to 74 months (mean=30 months). The purely endoscopic endonasal approach may provide a minimally invasive and safe approach to remove extracranial trigeminal schwannomas extending into the infratemporal fossa. Radical resection was associated with an excellent long-term outcome in this series.
authors.affiliation: Skull-Base Center, Capital Medical University, Xuanwu Hospital, 45 Changchunjie Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, China. zhangqiuhang@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Qiuhang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hongchuan
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mingchu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003390:Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005624:Frontal Bone / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009666:Nose / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery