What does cranial base surgery help treat?

The cranial base surgery team at Jersey Shore University Medical Center provides treatments for tumors, growths or other abnormalities that may exist on the brain, skull base, or spinal column.

Skull base surgeons can operate through the skull’s natural openings such as the nose, mouth and above the eyes rather than through a craniotomy (traditional opening of the skull), resulting in a shorter recovery time, and reduced risk of disfigurement, infection and damage to cerebral structures and nerves.
What does cranial base surgery help treat?

Cranial base surgery helps to treat the following growths and/or conditions:

Growths

• Cysts
• Growths caused by infections
• Pituitary gland tumors (adenomas)
• Meningiomas, benign (noncancerous) tumors that grow on the membranes that cover the brain or spinal cord inside the skull
• Chordomas, slow-growing, malignant (cancerous) bone tumors usually found at the base of the skull but can be found all the way down to the tailbone
• Craniopharyngiomas, rare tumors that grow near the pituitary gland, typically affecting children but can also affect adults
• Other benign and malignant tumors that grow at the base of the skull

Conditions

• Trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic, intense pain that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from the face to the brain
• Craniosynostosis, occurring when an infant’s bones within the skull close too early, causing issues with brain growth and shape of the skull
• Cerebrospinal fluid fistulas, typically found with fractures within the skull base that connect with the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses or middle ear
• Cerebral (intracranial) aneurysm, a weakness that occurs inside a blood vessel located inside the brain that expands and fills with blood
• Arteriovenous malformations, abnormal blood vessels that connect arteries and veins within the brain

Types of cranial base surgery

Cranial base surgery can be done in two ways — minimally-invasive endoscopy or open surgery.

Minimally-invasive skull base surgery (endoscopic): With this approach, a surgeon can access the growth by making a small opening inside the nose while utilizing an endoscope – a thin, flexible tube that provides light and a camera to see inside the body. Throughout the procedure, the team utilizes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to ensure that the growth has been removed.

Open skull base surgery: This approach may require incisions in the facial area and/or within the skull that provide access to tumors or growths and may require parts of bone to be removed.

Expert team

Our team is comprised of fellowship-trained adult and pediatric neurosurgeons, fellowship-trained skull base otolaryngologists (ENT) and craniofacial plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists and oculoplastic surgeons, as well as medical neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, epileptologists, intensivists, neuro-radiologists, neuro-pathologists, and palliative medicine physicians – offering seamless care to the patient through all stages of treatment.

Life after skull base surgery

Our team provides customized treatment plans with the goal to help each patient resume normal activities of daily living as soon as possible. The healing process is different for everyone, as some patients may be required to undergo continued therapy, such as radiotherapy or proton therapy.

Patients should also expect to undergo repeat imaging every so often to monitor healing progress and ensure that growths do not return over time.

As with any surgery, it’s important for patients to ensure that they have a strong support system before and throughout the procedure and healing process. If needed, your treatment team can also help provide mental health and support group resources.