Rare tumors of the skull base and temporal bone

Skull base surgery has advanced significantly in the last decade. Neuro-otologists and neurosurgeons are working together to apply their combined expertise to totally remove skull base lesions with minimal additional neurologic deficit. Standard approaches have been developed for the more common lesions of the skull base, such as the glomus jugular tumor. Rare tumors of the skull base can be removed using the standard skull base surgery techniques. However, there are specific problems with some of these tumors. This article will describe four types of unusual skull base tumors: hyalinized chemodactoma, giant cell tumor of the bone, papillary adenoma of the middle ear, and ganglioneuroma. The unique properties of these tumors and the surgical approach to their removal will be presented and illustrated by case reports.