The Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Approach

The transsphenoidal approach has been used for over a century to resect lesions of the sellar and parasellar regions. During the past decade, the sublabial, transseptal approach has been largely replaced by an endonasal approach, often with the very useful adjunct of the endoscope. This minimally invasive procedure for both the approach and the tumor resection improves patient comfort. The wide-angle, magnified visualization provided by the endoscope allows direct observation of critical surrounding structures of the central skull base and angled views for detecting tumor remnants not visualized with direct microscopic views. This report describes a 10-year experience with the endonasal, endoscopic approach to the sella turcica.