3. Introduction
• 1905 Frontal transcranial approach to the sella
Fedor Krause of Berlin
Sir Victor Horsley, Walter Dandy, and
Harvey Cushing
• 1907 First transsphenoidal approach
Schloffer,von Eiselsberg and Kocher
Require rhinotomy incision
• 1920 Endonasal and sublabial
• Hirsch and Halstead
10. Patient positioning
• The patient’s right shoulder is positioned in the top
righthand corner of the operative table
• Mayfield hoareshoe head rest or rigid 3 point fixation
• The patient’s head is oriented at a right angle to the
walls of the room
• The head is positioned so that the trajectory is
toward the sella(dorsum sellae parallel with the floor)
• The patient’sright hand is carefully positioned so that
it is located unobtrusively under the buttocks
11. Patient preparation
• Face
– aqueous antiseptic solution
• Nare
– topical vasoconstrictors and inject local anesthetic solution
– oxymetolazine (Afrin) into the nose before induction and
then pack both nostrils with cotton pledgets soaked in 5%
cocaine inserted with bayonets through a nasal speculum,
and leave these in for 10–15!minutes
• Umbilical region
– small fat graft
• Antibiotic
• Cortisol support
13. Surgical Approaches
• 1.The nasal phase, from initial sublabial or
endonasal incision to entry into the sphenoid sinus.
• 2. The sphenoid phase, from entry into the
sphenoid sinus to the sellar dura.
• 3. The sellar phase, from opening of the sellar dura
to lesion resection to establishment of hemostasis
and preparation for closure.
• 4. Reconstruction and closure phase.
18. Transnasal Submucosal Transseptal Approach
• Right-sided hemitransfixion incision in the right
nostril with the columella retracted to the patient’s left
• Dissection of the right anterior nasal mucosal tunnel
away from the septum
• One side of the septum is exposed submucosally
with a combination of sharp and blunt dissection,
thereby creating the anterior tunnel
• The dissection continues posteriorly, elevating the
nasal mucosa away from the cartilaginous septum
back to the junction with the bony septum
•
19. Transnasal Submucosal Transseptal Approach
• A vertical incision is then made at this junction, and
bilateral posterior submucosal tunnels are created on
either side oft he perpendicular plate of the ethmoid
• The articulation of the cartilaginous septum with the
maxilla is then dissected free
• The inferior mucosal tunnel on the opposite side is
raised so that the cartilaginous septum can be
displaced laterally without creating inferior mucosal
tears
• A self-retaining nasal speculum can then be
introduced to straddle the perpendicular plate of the
ethmoid, exposing the face of the sphenoid sinus
20. Transnasal Submucosal Transseptal Approach
• Advantage
– broad septal mobilization
– wide surgical corridor
– strict fidelity to the midline
• Disadvantage
– Sinonasal complications
– postoperative discomfort
– rhinological complaints including alveolar numbness,
– anosmia, saddle nose deformity, and nasal septal
perforations
22. • Transverse submucosal gingival sublabial incision
from canine to canine
• Dissection from the maxillary ridge and the anterior
nasal spine until the inferior aspect of the piriform
aperture is exposed
• Working from the lateral border medially, the two
inferior nasal tunnels are created by dissecting the
mucosa away from the superior surface of the hard
palate
• The caudal end of the nasal septum is carefully
dissected and a right anterior tunnel is created along
the right side of the nasal septum
Sublabial Submucosal Transseptal Approach
23. Sublabial Submucosal Transseptal Approach
• With sharp dissection,the right anterior endonasal
submucosal tunnel and the right inferior tunnels are
connected
• the entire right side of the nasal septum is exposed
back to the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid
• Using firm, blunt dissection along the right side of the
base of the nasal septum
• the cartilaginous portion of the septum is
dislocated at its junction with the perpendicular plate
of the ethmoid and vomer and is reflected to the
left,and a left posterior mucosal tunnel is developed
along
• the left side of the bony septum. At this point it
should be possible to insert the transsphenoidal
retractor
28. Sphenoid phase
• C-arm fluoroscopy confirm
• Forcep or punch to the vomer
• The mucosa in the sinus is resected with a cup
forceps to reduce bleeding and the risk of
postoperative mucocele
• Confirm position and trajectory
• Removing the sphenoid septations
• visualizing the carotid canals, the clivus, the
opticocarotid recesses when possible, and the
planum sphenoidale
29. Sphenoid phase
• Confirm trajectory and midline
• Chiesel or blunt nerve hook for sellar floor opening
• Widening with 1-2 mm Kerison punch
• Superior exposure to tuberculum sellae
31. Sellar phase
• Ananatomical hazard
– cavernous sinuses and carotids laterally
– the intercavernous sinuses at the tuberculum superiorly and
the floor of the sella inferiorly
– The venous sinuses which may run between the two leaves
of sellar dura
• coagulating and opening the dura
– rectangular excision : large tumors (macroadenomas)
– cruciate or “x” type : small tumour
• Dura for pathology
• Subdural plane using blunt hook or small curette
32. Sellar phase
• The surgeon should remove the inferior and lateral
aspects of the tumor first, allowing suprasellar
extension to drop into the operative field
33. Reconstruction and closure phase.
• If CSF leak fat graft from subumbilical incision
• 10% chloramphenicol solution, patted on a cotton
ball in order to incorporate a few wisps of cotton fiber
(which provoke a fibrotic reaction), and the fat is then
rolled in Avitene (Davol, Cranston, RI) hemostatic
collagen powder
• packed into the sellar cavity
34. Reconstruction and closure phase.
• The sellar floor is then reconstructed : bone from the
initial operative phase or artificial constructs such as
a MedPor (Porex, Neman, GA) tailored plate
• Blood and surgical debris are carefully suctioned
• from the sphenoid cavity and the nasopharynx prior
to closure
• no packing is necessary, the turbinates are then
medialized
36. Complication
• Hypothalamic injury
– Death, coma, DI, memory loss and disturbances of
vegetative functions (e.g., morbid obesity, uncontrollable
hunger or thirst, disturbances in temperature regulation)
• Visual damage
• Vascular complication
– The intracavernous portion of the carotid tends to be most
vulnerable, followed by other components of the circle of
Willis
– development of spasm or intraluminal thrombosis.
Intracranial hemorrhage, thrombotic stroke, embolic stroke,
and the development of false aneurysms or carotid-
cavernous fistulas
37. Complication
• Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea
• Cavernous sinus injury
– The carotid artery and cranial nerve VI are most vulnerable
to such maneuvers; cranial nerves III and IV are damaged
less frequently
• Iatrogenic hypopituitarism
• Brainstem injury
• Nasal complication
– febrile sinusitis,Mucocele
– Inadequate hemostasis in the nasal portion of the procedure
may lead to superficial wound hemorrhage and swelling
– Loss of the sense of smell
• Complication associated with reoperation