[Topographoanatomic prerequisites for radical surgery of craniopharyngiomas]

Sixty-seven patients with craniopharyngioma were tested by total (41) or subtotal (26) resection of the tumor. The possibility for radical removal of a craniopharyngioma depends on the size of the tumor and the character of its growth and on the peculiarities of its relation with the abjoining structures, i.e. the sella turcica, third ventricle, optic chiasm, and the vessels of the cerebral base. The tendency to perform radical operations for endosuprasellar craniopharyngiomas may be undertaken if it is possible to achieve atraumatic separation of the capsule of the tumor from the structures forming its seat under the floor of the third ventricle. The results of radical interventions for suprasellar intraventricular craniopharyngiomas are less favourable due to the marked macro- and microstructural changes in the hypothalamic and thalamic parts of the brain.