Selection of Surgical Approach for Trigonal Meningiomas in Consideration of Visual Outcome

We report the surgical outcome of trigonal meningiomas through 3 different approaches with attention to visual outcomes.

Between 1994 and 2017, 23 patients underwent resection of trigonal meningiomas. We performed tumor removal using 3 different surgical approaches through the superior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and modified MTG. The patients were retrospectively identified, and surgical results including visual outcome were analyzed.

Twenty-three patients with a mean age of 45 years formed the study group. The most common symptom and sign were headache (N = 14, 60.9%) and visual disturbance (N = 6, 26.1%). All patients underwent surgical resection, 6 via a translateral approach through MTG, 8 via a translateral approach through modified MTG, and 9 via a transparietal approach through the superior parietal lobule (SPL). Gross total resection was achieved in all patients. We found that visual preservation rate was 25% (1/4) in the MTG group, 62.5% (5/8) in the modified MTG group, and 100% (7/7) in the SPL group, respectively (P = 0.044). Permanent complication rate was 50% (3/6) in the MTG group, 50% (n = 4/8) in the modified MTG group, and 11.1% (n = 1/9) in the SPL group.

The superior parietal lobule approach is a safe and applicable procedure with a great visual preservation and an acceptable risk of morbidity for trigonal meningiomas when there is a chance of visual recovery or preservation.