title: Suction Filter in Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery: A Technical Note.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The collection of the greatest possible amount of pathologic tissue is of paramount importance in neurosurgery to achieve the most accurate histopathologic diagnosis, to perform all of the necessary biomolecular tests on the pathologic specimen, and to collect biological material for basic or translational science studies. This problem is particularly relevant in pituitary surgery because of the possible small size and soft consistency of tumors, which make them suitable for removal through suction, reducing the amount of available pathologic tissue. To solve this issue, we adopted a filter connected to the suction tube, which allows the surgeon to collect all of the tissue aspirated during surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our experience of 1734 endoscopic endonasal procedures, performed adopting this device since 1998 to December 2015, has been revised to assess its advantages and limitations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This system is easy-to-use, does not impair the surgical maneuvers, and does not add any relevant cost to the surgery. The tissue collected through the filter proved useful for diagnostic histologic and biomolecular analyses and for research purposes, without any relevant artifacts as a result of this method of collection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of a filter has allowed us to obtain the greatest amount possible of pathologic tissue at each surgery. This surgical material has revealed to be helpful both for diagnostic and basic science purposes. The use of the filter has proven to be of particular importance for microadenomas, soft tumors, and supradiaphragmatic or skull base lesions with heterogeneous features, improving the accuracy of histopathologic diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: matteo.zoli4@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zoli
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology "M. Malpighi", Bellaria Hospital, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale (USL) - IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marucci
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Milanese
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bonfatti
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sturiale
authors.affiliation: Ear-Nose-Throat Department, Ospedale Bellaria, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Pasquini
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ernesto
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Center of Surgery for Pituitary Tumors and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery, Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mazzatenta
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000601:surgery; D020863:Central Nervous System Cysts / Q000601:surgery; D016543:Central Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000601:surgery; D002817:Chordoma / Q000601:surgery; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000601:surgery; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000601:surgery; D005910:Glioma / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007029:Hypothalamic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D008579:Meningioma / Q000601:surgery; D057605:Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery; D044583:Neuroendoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009666:Nose; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D010954:Plasmacytoma / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013396:Suction / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
keywords: Basic sciences; Bone dust filter; Endoscopic endonasal surgery; Histopathologic diagnosis; Pituitary surgery; Skull base surgery; Translational sciences