[Surgery of the anterior skull base for head and neck tumors]

A total of seven patients with head and neck tumors underwent a surgery of the anterior skull base in combination with an extracranial approach. Two patients had squamous cell carcinoma of the frontal sinus; one, undifferentiated carcinoma of the ethmoid sinus; two, squamous cell carcinoma of the ethmoid sinus; one, olfactory neuroblastoma; and one, recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx. Two patients, one with frontal sinus carcinoma and one with undifferentiated carcinoma, developed recurrence. The former was treated with a salvage operation and the latter, with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Six patients are alive disease free (4, 5, 6, 8, 27 and 73 months) whereas the other is alive with disease (8 months). One patient developed partial necrosis of the reconstructed bony skull base and another developed enophthalmus and temporary diplopia postoperatively. No serious complications, however, were noted in any cases.