Outcomes of Surgical Repair of Skull Base Defects Following Endonasal Pituitary Surgery: A Retrospective Observational Study

Abstract

Skull base defects following endonasal surgery for pituitary macroadenoma need to be addressed during the surgery to prevent serious postoperative complications like cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. The objective of this study is to assess the incidence of CSF leak following pituitary surgery and the methods of effective skull base repair. This is a retrospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care hospital after obtaining due clearance from the Institutional ethics committee. The charts of patients who underwent endonasal pituitary surgery between 2013 and 2018 were studied and details noted. Patients undergoing revision surgery or with history of preoperative radiotherapy were excluded from the study. 52 patients were included in the study. Based on the type of CSF leak, the patients were grouped into four. 19 patients (36.5%) had an intraoperative CSF leak. 3 patients developed a postoperative CSF leak. Based on the histopathology, 4 patients had ACTH secreting tumor. 8 patients had growth hormone secreting tumor, 22 had gonadotropin secreting tumor, 9 patients had a non-functioning tumour and 9 patients had prolactinoma. The type of skull base repair performed in these patients were grouped into 4.18 patients underwent type I repair, 21 patients underwent type II repair, 8 patients underwent type III repair and 5 patients underwent type IV repair. We have observed that the pedicled nasoseptal flap is particularly advantageous over other repair techniques, especially in low pressure leaks. The strategy for skull base repair should be tailored to suit each patient to minimise the occurrence of morbidity and the duration of hospital stay.

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