Venous Anatomy Influence on the Approach Selection of a Petroclival Clear Cell Meningioma With Associated Multiple Spinal Meningiomas: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

Preoperative careful evaluation of the sigmoid transverse sinus and its tributary veins is paramount for the safe surgical planning of petroclival lesions.(1,2) When the vein of Labbe is running within the tentorium, classic petrosal approach involving transection of the tentorium is modified to avoid the risk of postoperative morbid temporal lobe venous infarcts.(1-3) Thus, the surgical plan should be tailored to the specific patient anatomy as demonstrated in the presented case during which a transmastoid approach was followed, in the same surgical setting, by a middle fossa approach to resect a large petroclival clear cell meningioma with extension into Meckel cave. These meningiomas are WHO grade II tumors with a propensity to local recurrence and cerebrospinal fluid seeding.(4) SMARCE1 mutations define this subtype of meningioma, with frequent familial inheritance, and predispose patients to both skull base and spinal clear cell meningiomas.(5,6) Maximal surgical resection is the best initial treatment option allowing to withhold or delay the use of radiation in tumors frequently encountered in young patients.(7) In this report, we demonstrate the microsurgical techniques deployed to achieve maximal resection of a petroclival clear cell meningioma and associated lumbar and sacral spinal meningiomas in a 20-yr-old patient with a familial SMARCE1 mutation. The patient agreed to the surgical intervention and to the use of her image.

Automated summary

Preoperative evaluation of the sigmoid transverse sinus and its tributary veins is crucial for safe surgical planning of petroclival lesions. Tailoring the surgical plan to specific patient anatomy is essential, with maximal resection being the best initial treatment option.