Craniofacial approaches and reconstruction in skull base surgery: techniques for the oral and maxillofacial surgeon

Skull base surgery (SBS) is considered the standard of care in treating benign and malignant lesions of the cranial base. SBS is a multidisciplinary team approach used to treat these complex lesions that may have intracranial extension. SBS can be broken down into 3 steps. Transfacial access is performed, followed by resection with sound oncologic principles, and then reconstruction of the cranial base and facial structures. Functional and esthetic concerns must be addressed by the surgeons. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons frequently perform elective facial osteotomies and treat victims of cranial base trauma. These same principles can be applied to SBS as a part of the skull base team.