[Surgical treatment for cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea from plaum sphenoidale]

A transcranial approach is frequently employed for the closure of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea, occurring after skullbase surgery or associated with anterior skull base fracture. However, the site of CSF rhinorrhea is usually most distant from the site of craniotomy and, because securing of an adequate operative field is difficult, elimination of this type of CSF rhinorrhea tends to be insufficient. We have attempted to reconstruct the anatomical structures with an extended transsphenoidal approach for a case with CSF rhinorrhea from the planum sphenoidale, and have succeeded in achieving a more physiological and reliable elimination of CSF rhinorrhea. This technique is presented, with a representative example.