Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach for pediatric craniopharyngiomas: A case series

This study aims to analyze our series of pediatric patients who underwent craniopharyngioma resection using the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach (EETA). We collected clinical and surgical data from the charts of 20 children who underwent craniopharyngioma removal surgery using the EETA from 2007 to 2017. From the charts, we collected demographic information, results of imaging tests (size and extension of the tumor), and information regarding the surgical procedure and postoperative complications. From the 20 patients included in this series (12 women and eight men), 17 underwent EETA as a primary procedure, and the remaining three underwent EETA as a secondary procedure due to a relapsing tumor following previous transcranial surgery. The mean age of the patients at the time of the surgical procedure was 7.5 years (range 3–18 years). Regarding their location, 12 tumors were in the sellar and suprasellar regions, three extended into the third ventricle, and five were exclusively intrasellar. We achieved a gross total resection (GTR) of the tumor in 14 patients (70%), subtotal in five (25%), and partial in one (5%). One patient (5%) developed a cerebrospinal fluid fistula after the surgical procedure. In the postoperative follow-up period (mean time = 5.3 years; range = 2–9 years), 11 (55%) patients developed panhypopituitarism, and a relapsing tumor was later found in three (15%) patients. Regarding visual impairment, four patients had visual abnormalities preoperatively (amaurosis, n = 2; bilateral visual acuity decrease, n = 1; bilateral visual field defect, n = 1), and those did not improve or worsened postoperatively. None of the patients who did not have vision problems before the surgery developed those postoperatively. Our results showed that the EETA is a safe and effective approach for removing craniopharyngiomas in children, as it associated with low operative morbidity and complication rates. Also, our data demonstrated that the EETA may be performed regardless of the size of the nasal cavity, pneumatization of the sphenoid sinuses, and location or extension of the tumors.