Intrasellar meningioma: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Intrasellar meningioma is a rare clinical entity, and surgical resection may be difficult when it is hypervascularized.

METHODS

A case of subdiaphragmatic hypervascular intrasellar meningioma with attachment to the dura of the anterior wall of the sella turcica is described. Literature review of 18 cases with operatively confirmed intrasellar meningioma discloses unexpected intraoperative bleeding and relatively low resectability of the tumor are also described.

RESULTS

We used preoperative endovascular embolization of feeding arteries, and resected a hypervascular intrasellar meningioma by a combined transsphenoidal-transcranial approach safely and without massive bleeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative endovascular embolization of feeding arteries and combined transsphenoidal-transcranial approach are useful for the surgical resection of hypervascular intrasellar meningiomas.