Surgery for craniopharyngioma is major surgery and is the primary treatment for craniopharyngioma. Generally there are transcranial approach surgery, transnasal approach surgery, palliative surgery and other ways. It is recommended that patients go to regular hospitals and follow the doctor’s instructions to avoid delay.
Surgery is the most important treatment for craniopharyngioma. However, craniopharyngioma has complicated adjoining relationship, which makes complete resection difficult, traumatic and with high complication rate.
1. Transcranial approach: the surgical approach is selected according to the anatomical location of the tumor, its relationship with the optic nerve, and the degree of extrusion to the floor of the third ventricle. Commonly used transcranial approaches include: via the wing point, expanding the wing point, etc., via the end plate, corpus callosum, lateral ventricle and other approaches.
2. Transnasal approach: generally applicable to intra-saddle type craniopharyngioma, the tumor grows to the sieve sinus and pterygoid sinus, and the enlarged transnasal butterfly approach can be used.
3. Palliative surgery: for patients who cannot undergo conventional surgery, palliative surgery is feasible, including cyst puncture to release cystic fluid, lateral ventricular shunt surgery to relieve cerebrospinal fluid circulation obstruction and reduce intracranial pressure.