Closure of small skull base defects with muscle plug napkin ring technique: how I do it

Defects through the skull base into the paranasal sinuses can occur during anterior skull base procedures, risking cerebrospinal fluid leak and infection if not repaired.

We describe a muscle plug napkin ring technique for closure of small skull base defects, wherein a free muscle graft slightly bigger than the defect is packed tightly in the defect, half extracranially and half intracranially and sealed with fibrin glue. The technique is illustrated in the case of a 58-year-old woman with a large left medial sphenoid wing/clinoidal meningioma.

The muscle plug napkin ring technique is a simple solution to small skull base defects.