Accessing the Basilar Artery Apex: Is the Temporopolar Transcavernous Route an Anatomically Advantageous Alternative?

ABSTRACT The restricted operative field, difficulty of obtaining proximal vascular control, and close relationship to important anatomic structures limit approaches to basilar apex aneurysms. We used a cadaveric model to compare three surgical transcavernous routes to the basilar apex in the neutral...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Skull base 2011-01, Vol.21 (1), p.023-030
Main Authors: Sabuncuoğlu, Hakan, Jittapiromsak, Pakrit, Cavalcanti, Daniel D, Spetzler, Robert F, Preul, Mark C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Original
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT The restricted operative field, difficulty of obtaining proximal vascular control, and close relationship to important anatomic structures limit approaches to basilar apex aneurysms. We used a cadaveric model to compare three surgical transcavernous routes to the basilar apex in the neutral configuration. Five cadaveric heads were dissected and analyzed. Working areas and length of exposure provided by the transcavernous (TC) approach via pterional, orbitozygomatic, and temporopolar (TP) routes were measured along with assessment of anatomic variation for the basilar apex region. In the pterional TC and orbitozygomatic TC approaches, the mean length of exposure of the basilar artery measured 6.9 and 7.2 mm, respectively (P = NS). The mean length of exposure in a TP TC approach increased to 9.3 mm (P 
ISSN:1531-5010
1532-0065
DOI:10.1055/s-0030-1262946