Van Tuyl R, Gussack G S
Division of Otolaryngology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
Laryngoscope. 1991 Mar;101(3):240-4. doi: 10.1288/00005537-199103000-00004.
From 1979 to 1989, 21 patients underwent craniofacial resection for malignancies involving the anterior skull base. Histologic types included 8 squamous cell carcinomas, 3 chondrosarcomas, 2 melanomas, 2 basal cell carcinomas, 2 adenocarcinomas, 2 poorly differentiated carcinomas, 1 malignant schwannoma, and 1 malignant hemangiopericytoma. Survival was 57%, with follow-up of 41 months. A 50% complication rate included osteomyelitis, cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea, meningitis, brain abscess, epidural abscess, and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone. Recurrent disease occurred in 9 patients (41%), the most reliable predictor being dural invasion indicated preoperatively by CT scan or at operation. Patients demonstrating dural involvement (N = 9) had a 22% survival rate, while patients without (N = 12) had a survival rate of 83%. The impact of dural invasion on long-term survival is emphasized. Though complications were frequent, long-term results were favorable.
