Giant olfactory groove meningioma: ophthalmological and cognitive outcome after bifrontal microsurgical approach.

OBJECT: Olfactory groove meningiomas arise in the midline along the dura of the cribriform plate and may reach a large size before producing symptoms. We conducted a retrospective study of patients with these lesions focused on pre- and post-operative investigations for ophthalmological, personality and cognitive disturbances.

METHODS: The authors reviewed 36 patients with giant olfactory groove meningiomas surgically treated via a bifrontal approach. Ophthalmological evaluation included visual acuity, fundoscopy and visual fields while psychological evaluation included a Mini-Mental State Examination. Data was collected before, 1 and 12 months after surgery. Formal pre- and post-operative ophthalmological examinations discovered visual deficits in 55.5% of the patients. Within the first month after surgery, improvement of visual acuity and of visual field deficits was observed. In post-operative neuropsychological testing, higher mental functions showed improvement. The most frequent post-operative complication was persistent rhinorrhoea in two patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Results at longest follow up indicate that cognitive changes and visual deficits will improve in patients with giant olfactory groove meningiomas after a bifrontal approach, without additional neurological deficits.