[Application of the "five-line division method" in selecting surgical approach for spaceoccupying lesions in the saddle area and the adjacent areas].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the application of the"five-line division method "in selecting the surgical approach for occupying lesions in the saddle area and its adjacent areas.

METHODS

Based on the natural anatomic structures, 5 lines (alpha, beta, theta line and lambda, epsilon line) were drawn on the images of the craniocerebral axial plane crossing the middle of the saddle area and the craniocerebral median sagittal plane, thus dividing the saddle area and its adjacent areas into 6 regions in the axial plane (1, 2, 3, 1', 2', and 3' regions) and into 4 regions in the sagittal plane (I, II, III, and IV regions). Based on these divisions, the large space-occupying lesions in the saddle area and adjacent areas were classified and their respective surgical approaches were determined after reviewing the commonly used approaches in the saddle area and clinical experiences. We collected the data of 116 patients undergoing surgeries for space-occupying lesions involving the saddle and the adjacent areas in our hospital between September, 2014 and August, 2017, and analyzed their classifications and the corresponding surgical approaches based on the "five- line division method " to compare the consistency between the hypothetic approaches and the approaches adopted in the actual surgeries.

RESULTS

The actual surgical approaches adopted in the 116 cases were all selected under the guidance of experts in our hospital. The hypothetic surgical approaches selected based on the"five- line division method "showed a good consistency with the actually adopted approaches.

CONCLUSIONS

The"five-line division method "can spatially classify the commonly seen space-occupying lesions involving the saddle area and its adjacent area to provide assistance in the selection of surgical approaches for such lesions.