[Our experiences with cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and its surgical treatment using an extracranial approach].

The cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea is usually due to a skull lesion and is potentially dangerous for the patient, as it can be followed by an ascending meningitis. The extracranial approach (external ethmoidectomy, osteoplasty of the frontal sinus) has substituted craniotomy, especially in cases where the cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea is not due to intracranial lesions. In this study, we describe the surgical treatment of 9 patients treated in our clinic, and we make a brief review of the literature.