Rarely Used Endoscopic Transnasal Transdiaphragmatic Technique in Patients with Suprasellar Extension: A Tertiary Center's Experience with Eleven Patient Cases.

OBJECTIVE

As surgical techniques become less invasive, the use of endoscopy in brain surgery supports this trend. Numerous endoscopic surgical approaches have been defined, especially for skull base diseases. The current study summarizes our experience of using the rarely reported endoscopic transnasal transdiaphragmatic approach through the existing hole in the diaphragma sella to access lesions extending into the suprasellar region.

METHODS

Our surgical team performed 4876 endoscopic endonasal surgeries between August 1997 and December 2022 at the Department of Neurosurgery, Pituitary Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University. The study retrospectively analyzed data from 11 patients who had undergone endoscopic transnasal transdiaphragmatic surgery since January 2020. Preoperative and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging, pituitary function examination, and clinical observation were carried out.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 31.1 ± 10.7 years and the female/male ratio was 6:5. Pathologic subtypes observed included breast cancer metastasis (n = 1), adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenoma (n = 4), growth hormone-secreting adenoma (n = 3), craniopharyngioma (n = 2), and Rathke cleft cyst (n = 1). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 4.7 ± 1.1 days and none of the patients showed cerebrospinal fluid leakage during this period.

CONCLUSIONS

The endoscopic transnasal transdiaphragmatic approach may be considered an alternative to the conventional extended endoscopic transnasal approach in patients with lesions extending into the suprasellar region. The main strength of this method is that it facilitates suprasellar region access through a small dural incision and bone defect in the base of the skull. As a result, it also reduces the risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage and associated complications.