Factors affecting postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks after retrosigmoidal craniotomy for vestibular schwannomas.

Full Abstract

OBJECT: The aim of this study was to identify patients likely to develop CSF leaks after vestibular schwannoma surgery using a retrospective analysis for the identification of risk factors. METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2006, 420 patients underwent retrosigmoidal microsurgical tumor removal in a standardized procedure. Of these 420 patients, 363 underwent treatment for the first time, and 27 suffered from recurrent tumors. Twenty-six patients had bilateral tumors due to neurofibromatosis Type 2, and 4 patients had previously undergone radiosurgical treatment. An analysis was performed to examine the incidence of postoperative CSF fistulas in all 4 groups. RESULTS: The incidence of CSF leakage was higher in the tumor recurrence group (11.1%) than in patients undergoing surgery for the first time (4.4%). There were no CSF fistulas in the neurofibromatosis Type 2 group or in patients with preoperative radiosurgical treatment. Tumor size was identified as a possible risk factor in a previous study. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery for recurrent tumors is a significant risk factor for the development of CSF leaks.

Author information

Author/s: Stieglitz, Lennart H (LH); Wrede, Karsten H (KH); Gharabaghi, Alireza (A); Gerganov, Venelin M (VM); Samii, Amir (A); Samii, Madjid (M); Luedemann, Wolf O (WO);

Affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, International Neuroscience Institute, Hannover, Germany. lennart(-atsign-)stieglitze.de

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: Journal of neurosurgery (J Neurosurg), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Oct; vol 111 (issue 4) : pp 874-83

Dates: Created 2009/10/02; Completed 2009/10/23;

PMID: 19326990, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/23/2009, IMS Date: )

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