Journal article
Pediatric Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery: Safety, Efficacy, and Lessons Learned
Journal of neurological surgery. Part B, Skull base, Vol.87(4), pp.477-484
08/01/2026
DOI: 10.1055/a-2646-2274
PMID: 42404186
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to describe our institution's experience with endoscopic approaches to pediatric skull base surgery.Design/Setting/Participants A retrospective study of consecutive cases of patients under the age of 18 years who underwent endoscopic skull base surgery performed at our institution between 2016 and 2023.Main Outcome Measures Postoperative outcomes, including hospital length of stay, 30-day readmission, postop cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, tumor recurrence, intracranial infection, endocrinopathy, visual deficit, or cranial neuropathy.Results In total, 37 surgeries were performed in 32 patients: 32 primary surgeries and 5 revision surgeries. Median patient age was 13.5 years (interquartile range [IQR] 5.3 years) with a slight female predominance ( N = 18, 56%). Surgeries were performed for skull base tumor resection ( N = 27, 73%), skull base defect repair ( N = 5, 14%), optic nerve decompression ( N = 3, 8%), and skull base tumor biopsy ( N = 2, 5%). Median length of hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 5 days); a single postoperative CSF leak required revision surgery (3%), and three patients developed postoperative intracranial infections (8%). The most common endocrinopathy developed after surgery was transient diabetes insipidus (DI) ( N = 6, 16%). There were no cases of internal carotid artery injury, new cranial neuropathies, or vision loss after surgery. Nine of the 25 endoscopic surgeries for a skull base tumor that achieved gross total resection had tumor recurrence (36%).Conclusion Endoscopic surgery is a safe and efficacious intervention for skull base pathology in pediatric patient populations.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Pediatric Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery: Safety, Efficacy, and Lessons Learned
- Creators
- Daniel P. Lander - Washington University in St. LouisPeter Yang - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonKate Dunsky - Washington University in St. LouisMichael R. Chicoine - University of MissouriDavid D. Limbrick - Virginia Commonwealth UniversityJohn S. Schneider - Washington University in St. Louis
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of neurological surgery. Part B, Skull base, Vol.87(4), pp.477-484
- DOI
- 10.1055/a-2646-2274
- PMID
- 42404186
- ISSN
- 2193-6331
- eISSN
- 2193-634X
- Publisher
- Thieme Medical Publishers
- Number of pages
- 8
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/01/2026
- Academic Unit
- Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9985240896702771
Metrics
1 Record Views