Value of radiologic imaging and computer assisted surgery in surgical decisions of the anterior skull base lesions.

Overview

The role of radiologic imaging in surgical decision making of anterior skull base lesions has been found to be critical in the endoscopic surgical management of these lesions. The non-invasive radiologic imaging may include the use of CT scans, MRI scans, MRA scans and their subtraction technique. The imaging offers an understanding of the vascularity of the lesion, the relationship to the nearby neurovascular structures and the type of tissue density of these lesions. The addition of image guided applications offers one a sagittal reconstruction and a 3-D imaging capacity which has immensely improved the accuracy and precision in endoscopic surgical applications in these areas.