Skull Base & Brain Stem Tumors
Crouse Skull Base Surgeons
Gregory Canute, MD
Parul Goyal, MD
David Padalino, MD
The Skull Base Microsurgery Center specializes in “difficult to reach” disease processes that involve the bottom of the skull (upon which the brain sits), under surface of the brain and the brain stem.
Since tumors of the skull base lie beneath the brain, their removal can be challenging. Traditional methods call for retracting or moving the brain out of the way to gain access, causing potential injury to otherwise normal brain tissue.
The approach of skull base surgery is to access the tumor from underneath the brain or from the side, with minimal brain retraction.
Entrance for tumor removal can be gained via the ear, nose or paranasal sinuses or from the neck. Surgeons who work with skull base neurosurgeons can include rhinologists (specialists in the nose and sinuses); otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat specialists); ophthalmologists; and vascular physicians.
Tumors in these areas require the development of corridors through the nose and mouth and around the eyes and ears to provide access. Reaching these areas surgically takes a highly specialized, multidisciplinary team of surgeons using maximally and minimally invasive techniques.
Conditions Treated and Procedures Performed Using Skull Base Surgery Techniques
• Pituitary adenoma
• Benign and malignant sinonasal tumor
• Benign and malignant tumor of skull/facial bones
• Benign and malignant orbital tumor
• CSF leak repair
• Craniofacial pain syndromes
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Hemifacial spasm
• Vestibular schwannomas
• Skull base meningiomas
• Cranial nerve neuromas
• Cavernous sinus tumors
• Optic nerve tumors
• Brain aneurysms
• Arteriovenous malformations
• Arteriovenous fistula
• Rathke cleft
• Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma
