The Therapeutic Effects Of Microneurosurgery On Craniopharyngioma And The Treatment Of Complications

Objective:To evaluate the therapeutic effects of Microneurosurgery on craniopharyngioma, and to investigate the experiences for dealing with the postoperative complications.Method:A retrospective review about the clinical characteristics and the postoperative complications was made for 63 patients who had accepted microneurosurgery for craniopharyngioma from January2005 to December 2008 in the 2nd affiliated hospital of Zhejiang university, School of medicine.Results:28 of the 63 patients were female, and 35 were male; the age ranged from 5years to 76years. The tumor in 48 cases(76.2%) were totally resected,the others were subtotally removed.2 patients died after operation in 24 hours. Surgical complications included:diabetes insipidus(31cases,49.2%), electrolyte disturbance(20cases,31.7%), hyperpyrexia(7cases,11.1%), hemiplegia and injury of oculomotor nerve(5cases,7.9%), disturbance of consciousness(8cases,12.7%), epilepsy(3cases,4.8%), intracranial infection(2cases,3.2%). follow-ups were got in 51cases, and the mean time were 2.48 years; 3 patients encountered tumor recurrences and had a second surgery or the Gamma Knife therapy; 11 of the subtotally removed patients need further treatment because of tumor relapse. Conclusion:Microsurgery is currently the first choice for the treatment of craniopharyngioma. Correctly dealing with the postoperative complications play an important role in the treatment of craniopharyngioma.