ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgical Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1568913
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Multidisciplinary Approaches in Skull-Base Tumor ManagementView all 6 articles
Lessons learned in 20 years of endoscopic endonasal surgery for pterygopalatine and infratemporal fossae lesions: analysis of a patient series and systematic review of literature
Provisionally accepted
Matteo Zoli1*
Giacomo Sollini2
Alessia Giorli2Alessandro Carretta1
Marcello Magnani1Arianna Rustici1Martina Conti2Laura Belotti1Corrado Zenesini1
Sofia Asioli1Paolo Farneti2Ernesto Pasquini2
Diego Mazzatenta1- 1IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna (ISNB), Bologna, Italy
- 2Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
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Recently, the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) has been proposed as a possible surgical option for benign and malignant tumors, located in the infratemporal (ITF) and pterygopalatine fossae (PPF). The aim of this study is to analyze the surgical outcome of the EEA for these lesions, identifying the preoperative factors affecting tumor resection.Methods. All consecutive cases of PPF and ITF tumors operated through an EEA have been retrospectively collected. Preoperative clinical and radiological features, surgical outcome, complications and patient follow-up have been analyzed. A systematic review of literature has been performed.Results. The series includes 100 patients (66 males, 66.0%, mean age: 43.7 ± 22.1). The most common histotypes were juvenile angiofibromas (36 cases, 36.0%), malignancies (26, 26.0%), and chordomas (14, 14.0%). Gross total resection of the PPF/ITF portion of the tumor was achieved in 88 (88.0%) patients. The most common complication was represented by 10 cases (10.0%) of V2 hypoesthesia (3 transient). At logistic regression, tumor location in the temporomasseteric and tubo-pharyngeal zones proved negatively associated with the GTR rate (p:0.05, p<0.01).EEA is an effective and safe approach for both benign and malignant tumors involving the PPF and ITF. It is characterized by a favorable complications rate and a quick patients recovery. We observed thatthe tumor extensions in the temporo-masseteric area and in the tubo-pharyngeal space were the most relevant factors negatively associated with complete tumor removal.
Keywords: Pterygopalatine Fossa, infratemporal fossa, Endoscopic endonasal approach, Skull Base, malignancies, Meningioma, Juvenile angiofibroma
Received: 30 Jan 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zoli, Sollini, Giorli, Carretta, Magnani, Rustici, Conti, Belotti, Zenesini, Asioli, Farneti, Pasquini and Mazzatenta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Matteo Zoli, IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna (ISNB), Bologna, Italy
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