Optimal access route for pontine cavernous malformation resection with preservation of abducens and facial nerve function.

CONCLUSIONS: The authors' results suggest favoring a posterolateral over a posteromedial access route to PCMs in patients in whom a lesion is encountered that can be removed via either surgical approach. In the present series, the authors have found such a constellation in 57% of all patients. This retrospective analysis confirms their hypothesis in a large patient cohort. Additionally, the authors demonstrated that 4 types of PCMs can be distinguished by preoperatively evaluating whether only one reasonable or two alternative surgical approaches are available to access a specific lesion. The rates of postoperative sixth and seventh nerve palsies in this series are substantially lower than those in the majority of other published reports. PMID: 33307526 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Neurosurgery - Category: Neurosurgery Authors: Tags: J Neurosurg Source Type: research