Tuberculum sellae meningiomas: clinical outcome considering different surgical approaches

Tuberculum sellae meningiomas present a special challenge because of their proximity to arteries of the anterior circulation, anterior visual pathways, and the hypothalamus. The authors report on the clinical outcome after surgical treatment of tuberculum sellae meningiomas in our neurosurgical department.

A retrospective study was conducted analyzing the charts of the patients, including surgical records, discharge letters, histological records, follow-up records, and imaging studies. Patients with associated neurofibromatosis Type 2 were excluded from the study.

One thousand eight hundred meningiomas were operated on between 1978 and 2002. Seventy-two of these patients had tuberculum sellae meningiomas; four had undergone previous surgical procedures in outside hospitals. Fifty-five patients were women; 17 were men. Their mean age was 54.3 years (range, 30-86 yr). All patients had visual disturbances at presentation. Tumors were operated through the bifrontal approach (n = 21, from 1978 through 1995), the pterional/frontotemporal approach (n = 21, from 1982 through 2002), and the frontolateral approach (n = 30, from 1984 through 2002). Total tumor removal was achieved in most patients (Simpson 1 + 2, 91.7%). The perioperative mortality rate was 2.8% (two out of 72 patients). Immediate postoperative improvement of visual disturbance was observed in 65% of patients. Visual improvement was dependent on the duration of preoperative visual symptoms, but not on preoperative visual acuity or tumor size. The visual improvement rate was significantly better in patients who underwent frontolateral tumor resection (77.8%) compared with those who underwent bifrontal craniotomy (46.2%). The overall recurrence rate was 2.8% (two out of 72 patients). The mean follow-up time for all patients was 4 to 238 months (mean, 45.3 mo [3.8 yr]).

From 1978 through 2002, tuberculum sellae meningiomas were removed microsurgically using three different surgical approaches. Considering the operative morbidity and mortality, the frontolateral and pterional approach provided remarkable improvement compared with the bifrontal approach. These approaches allowed quick access to the tumor and were minimally invasive with less brain exposure, but still engendered high rates of total tumor removal. By comparison, the frontolateral approach provided the best results concerning visual outcome while representing the least invasive surgical approach.