[Reconstruction of skull base by omentum transplantation]

The majority of skull base tumors have been considered inoperable not because of the difficulty of surgical removal, but for lack of reliable methods to reconstruct the skull base following extensive removal of those tumors. In this report a trial fo reconstruction using a transplanted omentum is described. A free sheet of vascularized omentum was taken via laparotomy and transplanted into the skull base in four patients who had undergone extensive resection of skull base tumors. The transplanted omentum served satisfactorily as a barrier to prevent CSF leakage and subsequent infection and was considered to be a reliable material to reconstruct large defects in the skull base. The advantage of the omentum is its applicability in covering defects of all sizes and shapes. The omentum also contains various factors to promote tissue adhesion, such as angiogenic factors and fibroblastic growth factors. Furthermore, it can be expected to prevent secondary infections of the transplanted area, and as being a defense organ in the abdominal cavity. Practical methods to harvest and transplant the free vascularized omentum are described, and four cases of patients who have undergone these procedures are reported.