Neurospine.  2019 Jun;16(2):257-266. 10.14245/ns.1938174.087.

Suture Repair in Endoscopic Surgery for Craniovertebral Junction

• Yeh MY
• Huang WC
• Wu JC
• Kuo CH
• Chang HK
• Tu TH
• Chang PY
• Yen YS
• Cheng H

• KMID: 2452664
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14245/ns.1938174.087

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Endoscopic approaches to the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) have been established as viable and effective surgical treatments in the past decade. One of the major complications is leakage of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of suture closure at the nasopharyngeal mucosa upon durotomy.
METHODS
A series of consecutive patients who underwent different endoscopic approaches to the CVJ were retrospectively reviewed. The pathologies, surgical corridors, neurological and functional outcomes, radiological evaluations, and complications were analyzed. Different strategies of repair for the intraoperative CSF leakage were described and compared.
RESULTS
A total of 22 patients covering 13 years were analyzed. There were 12, 2, and 8 patients who underwent transnasal, transoral, and combined approaches, respectively. There were 8 patients (36.4%) who experienced intraoperative CSF leakage, and were grouped into 2: 4 in the nonsuture (NS) group and 4 in the suture-repaired (SR) group. The NS group had 3 (75%) persistent CSF leakages postoperation that caused 1 mortality, whereas patients of the SR group had only 1 minor CSF rhinorrhea that healed spontaneously within days.
CONCLUSION
In this series of 22 patients who required anterior endoscopic resection of pathologies at the CVJ, there was 1 (4.5%) serious complication related to CSF leakage. For patients who had no durotomy, the mucosal incision at the nasopharynx usually healed rapidly and there were few procedure-related complications. For patients with intraoperative CSF leakage, suture closure was technically challenging but could significantly lower the risks of postoperative complications.

Keyword

Transnasal; transoral; and combined endoscopic approaches; Craniovertebral junction; Basilar invagination; Chordoma; Odontoidectomy; Atlantoaxial deformity

MeSH Terms

Cerebrospinal Fluid
Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea
Chordoma
Humans
Mortality
Mucous Membrane
Nasopharynx
Pathology
Postoperative Complications
Retrospective Studies
Sutures*