Reference chapters
Topics
An in-depth chapter for every pathology and surgical approach in the atlas, written for neurosurgeons and referenced to the primary literature. Each chapter links to the operative videos tagged with it.
Pathologies19
Classification, presentation, imaging, surgical decision-making and outcomes for each disease in the library.
Arachnoid Cyst
Benign, CSF-filled duplications of the arachnoid that are usually incidental; the neurosurgical question is almost always whether a given cyst is truly responsible for the patient's symptoms.
0 videos3 references
Cavernous Malformation
Low-flow vascular malformations made of thin-walled sinusoidal channels; management turns on location, haemorrhage history and whether a safe surgical corridor reaches the pial or ependymal surface.
0 videos5 references
Chiari Malformation
Descent of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum that obstructs CSF flow at the craniocervical junction; surgery is for symptoms or syringomyelia, not for the imaging finding alone.
0 videos2 references
Chordoma
A rare, locally aggressive notochordal tumour of the clivus and spine whose prognosis is set largely by the first operation: maximal safe resection followed by high-dose radiotherapy.
0 videos4 references
Craniopharyngioma
Histologically benign but clinically formidable sellar–suprasellar tumours, where the extent of resection must be weighed against the lifelong cost of hypothalamic injury.
0 videos7 references
Dural AV Fistula
Acquired arteriovenous shunts within the dural leaflets, whose risk is determined almost entirely by their venous drainage; cortical venous reflux turns a nuisance into a dangerous lesion.
0 videos3 references
Encephalocele
Herniation of brain and meninges through a skull defect; at the skull base it presents as CSF leak or meningitis and is closely tied to raised intracranial pressure.
0 videos3 references
Epidermoid
Slow-growing congenital inclusion cysts of keratinising epithelium that creep along cisterns and wrap around nerves and vessels, demanding patient, capsule-sparing microsurgery.
0 videos2 references
Glioblastoma
The most common malignant primary brain tumour; the neurosurgeon's contribution is a maximal resection that preserves function, followed by chemoradiation.
0 videos7 references
Granuloma
Inflammatory masses that imitate tumours; the surgeon's role is usually to secure a diagnosis safely and relieve mass effect, while definitive treatment is medical.
0 videos2 references
Meningocele
Herniation of meninges and CSF, without brain, through a skull or spinal defect; at the skull base it is one end of the spectrum of spontaneous CSF leaks.
0 videos2 references
Meningioma
The most common primary intracranial tumour; the art lies in knowing when to operate, how much dura and bone to take, and when to stop and leave the rest to radiation.
0 videos5 references
Neurocytoma
A rare intraventricular neuronal tumour of young adults, typically at the foramen of Monro, that is often cured by gross-total resection.
0 videos4 references
Paraganglioma
Hypervascular neuroendocrine tumours of the temporal bone and neck; their slow growth and the cost of lower cranial-nerve loss make individualised, function-sparing management the rule.
0 videos3 references
Pineocytoma
A slow-growing pineal parenchymal tumour that sits among the deep veins and the tectum; management combines CSF diversion, a tissue diagnosis and, when appropriate, complete resection.
0 videos3 references
Pituitary Adenoma
Pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs) are the commonest sellar lesions; management depends on endocrine function as much as on size, and most surgical cases go through the nose.
0 videos7 references
Subdural Empyema
A neurosurgical emergency in which pus spreads rapidly through the subdural space; early, adequate drainage and source control save lives.
0 videos2 references
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Paroxysmal facial pain usually caused by vascular compression of the trigeminal root; microvascular decompression treats the cause and gives the most durable relief.
0 videos3 references
Schwannoma
Benign nerve-sheath tumours, most often vestibular, where the choice between observation, radiosurgery and microsurgery is driven by tumour size, growth and the patient's hearing and facial function.
0 videos7 references
Surgical approaches19
History, indications, surgical anatomy, operative steps and complication avoidance for each approach.
Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal
A route through the nose and sphenoid sinus to the sella and, in its expanded forms, to the whole ventral skull base from the crista galli to the odontoid, without brain retraction.
0 videos6 references
Extended Middle Fossa
The Kawase anterior petrosectomy: removal of the petrous apex from above, opening a hearing-sparing corridor to the upper clivus, petroclival junction and lateral pons.
0 videos3 references
Far Lateral (Transcondylar)
A posterolateral approach to the foramen magnum that, by controlling the vertebral artery and removing a tailored part of the condyle, gives a low, lateral view of the ventral brainstem.
0 videos3 references
Infratemporal Fossa
Fisch's lateral skull-base approaches (types A–D) through the temporal bone and infratemporal fossa, used chiefly for jugular-foramen paragangliomas and lesions spanning the skull base and neck.
0 videos4 references
Interhemispheric
A midline corridor along the falx to the medial hemisphere, corpus callosum and ventricles; its success depends on respecting the bridging veins and the fornices.
0 videos2 references
Middle Fossa
An extradural subtemporal route to the roof of the internal auditory canal, preserving hearing for small intracanalicular tumours and giving access to the facial nerve and the tegmen.
0 videos3 references
Orbitozygomatic
An extension of the pterional craniotomy that removes the orbital rim, orbital roof and zygomatic arch to gain a lower, more upward-looking view of the anterior and middle skull base.
0 videos3 references
Posterior Fossa
The midline and paramedian suboccipital craniotomies that open the cerebellum, fourth ventricle and dorsal brainstem; the foundation of most infratentorial surgery.
0 videos4 references
Pterional
Yaşargil's frontotemporal craniotomy centred on the pterion; through the opened Sylvian fissure it reaches the circle of Willis, the sellar region and the medial sphenoid wing.
0 videos2 references
Retrosigmoid (Suboccipital)
The workhorse lateral suboccipital craniotomy behind the sigmoid sinus; the main route to the cerebellopontine angle for tumours, microvascular decompression and the cranial nerves.
0 videos3 references
Supraorbital
A keyhole craniotomy through an eyebrow incision that uses a subfrontal trajectory to reach the anterior skull base and the suprasellar cisterns with minimal exposure.
0 videos1 references
Transclival
An expanded endonasal module that removes the clivus to open a ventral, retraction-free corridor to the brainstem, basilar artery and posterior fossa.
0 videos3 references
Transcochlear
The most anterior of the lateral transtemporal approaches: removal of the cochlea with posterior transposition of the facial nerve, for a direct lateral view of the petroclival region.
0 videos4 references
Translabyrinthine
A transtemporal route through the mastoid and labyrinth that sacrifices hearing to give a direct, retraction-free view of the IAC and CPA with early facial-nerve identification.
0 videos3 references
Transmastoid
Mastoidectomy as a stand-alone approach and as the building block of every posterior petrosal route; it exposes the sigmoid sinus, tegmen, facial nerve and presigmoid dura.
0 videos2 references
Transorbital
Endoscopic routes that use the orbit as a corridor to the anterior and middle cranial fossae, cavernous sinus and Meckel's cave, complementing endonasal and transcranial approaches.
0 videos2 references
Transodontoid
Anterior decompression of the craniovertebral junction by resecting the odontoid, now performed endoscopically through the nose as well as through the mouth.
0 videos2 references
Transpetrosal
A family of petrosectomies, anterior and posterior, that remove temporal bone instead of retracting brain to reach the petroclival region, trading graded bone removal against hearing and facial function.
0 videos5 references
Transventricular Endoscopic
Neuroendoscopy through a burr hole into the ventricles, used above all for endoscopic third ventriculostomy and for biopsy, cyst fenestration and removal of selected intraventricular lesions.
0 videos4 references
General education for medical professionals, summarising published literature. Not advice for any individual patient or a substitute for supervised surgical training.