Is postoperative imaging mandatory after meningioma removal? Results of a prospective study

• Published in: PloS one 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0124534-e0124534
• Main Authors: Geßler, Florian, Dützmann, Stephan, Quick, Johanna, Tizi, Karima, Voigt, Melanie Alexandra, Mutlak, Haitham, Vatter, Hartmut, Seifert, Volker, Senft, Christian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brain cancer; Clinical decision making; Convexity; Decision making; Diagnostic Imaging - methods; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Localization; Male; Medical imaging; Meningeal Neoplasms - pathology; Meningeal Neoplasms - surgery; Meningioma; Meningioma - pathology; Meningioma - surgery; Nervous System Diseases - epidemiology; Nervous System Diseases - etiology; Nervous System Diseases - pathology; Neurological diseases; Neurosurgery; Neurosurgical Procedures - adverse effects; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Patients; Pediatrics; Postoperative Complications - epidemiology; Postoperative Complications - pathology; Postoperative Period; Prospective Studies; Signs and symptoms; Studies; Surgery; Surgical outcomes; Treatment Outcome; Tumors
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124534

Routine postoperative imaging (PI) following surgery for intracranial meningiomas is common practice in most neurosurgical departments. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of routine PI and its impact on clinical decision making after resection of meningioma. Patient and tumor characteristics, details of radiographic scans, symptoms and alteration of treatment courses were prospectively collected for patients undergoing removal of a supratentorial meningioma of the convexity, falx, tentorium, or lateral sphenoid wing at the authors' institution between January 1st, 2010 and March 31st, 2012. Patients with infratentorial manifestations or meningiomas of the skull base known to be surgically difficult (e.g. olfactory groove, petroclival, medial sphenoid wing) were not included. Maximum tumor diameter was divided into groups of < 3 cm (small), 3 to 6 cm (medium), and > 6 cm (large). 206 patients with meningiomas were operated between January 2010 and March 2012. Of these, 113 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in this study. 83 patients (73.5%) did not present new neurological deficits, whereas 30 patients (26.5%) became clinically symptomatic. Symptomatic patients had a change in treatment after PI in 21 cases (70%), while PI was without consequence in 9 patients (30%). PI did not result in a change of treatment in all asymptomatic patients (p