Preservation of visual fields with the inferior temporal gyrus approach to the atrium.

Various transcortical approaches have been described for the resection of tumors that lie in the atrium of the lateral ventricle. An approach through the middle temporal gyrus has a short trajectory to the atrium and can grant early access to the tumor's blood supply, but it typically results in damage to the optic radiations that course lateral to the atrium. Anatomical studies have suggested that an approach inferior to the inferior temporal sulcus would avoid traversing through the optic radiations. The authors describe 2 cases of meningioma in the atrium that were exposed and resected through an incision in the inferior temporal gyrus. They provide data from neuroophthalmological testing that shows full preservation of the visual fields with this approach.