Abstract
Suprasellar arachnoid cysts represent less than 10 % of all intracranial arachnoid
cysts. Some of them may be quiescent throughout life, some may become symptomatic
as they become enlarged and some disappear spontaneously. In this study we discuss
the surgical strategies for endoscopic and endoscope-assisted treatment of suprasellar
(Mickey Mouse) cysts and analyze the clinical results and experience collected over
some years in our department upon doing these operations routinely. Between December
1996 and December 2003, 13 patients (7 female and 6 male patients), mean age 29 years,
underwent endoscopic or endoscope-assisted procedures for suprasellar cysts at our
department. The indication for surgical treatment was based on the neurological and
radiological examination. The goal of surgical treatment was to normalize the cerebrospinal
fluid flow and to establish a communication, permanently, between the cyst cavity
and the intraventricular or/and subarachnoid space. Intraoperatively we observed in
all patients no complications. Seven of 13 patients, who had received shunt systems
in other hospitals before admission in our clinic, remained shunt-free postoperatively.
Overall clinical improvement was achieved for a long period of between 6 and 74 months
in 11 patients, one developed a psychomotor disturbance and another one, who had epilepsy
before treatment, was unchanged postoperatively. Our data suggest that suprasellar
cysts are well treated by endoscopic or endoscope-assisted procedures with good clinical
outcome and low surgical morbidity.
Key words
Suprasellar cyst - neuroendoscopy - keyhole approach
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Patra Charalampaki, M. D.
Department of Neurosurgery · Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz
Langenbeckstr. 1
55101 Mainz
Germany
Telefon: +49-6131-177331
Fax: +49-6131-172274 ·
eMail: charal@nc.klinik.uni-mainz.de