Cerebral Revascularization

This issue and the next of Skull Base: An Interdisciplinary Approach will be, in part, dedicated to cerebral revascularization, a technique that rounds out the armamentarium of skull base surgeons. Although the original techniques of cerebral revascularization were developed over 30 years ago, the indications for surgery and refinements of the procedure continue to evolve. Cerebral revascularization has particular applications to vascular and neoplastic lesions of the skull base. Many skull base surgeons also evaluate and manage patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

In this issue, the Washington University group reviews the indications for bypass in the setting of carotid occlusion. Drs. Smith and Scott review surgical management of pediatric moyamoya syndrome, while Dr. Zipfel and colleagues discuss revascularization in adult moyamoya. Next, the Stanford group reviews revascularization in the posterior circulation. Drs. Quintero Wolfe, Tummala, and Morcos give a nice overview of the literature and indications and surgical options for revascularization in the setting of skull base tumors. Drs. Mura, Rojas-Zalazar, and de Oliveira also describe revascularization for skull base tumors with an emphasis on radial artery grafting.