Clínica Corachan has started a Multidisciplinary Unit of Surgery of the Base of the Skull to treat tumoral pathologies that appear in this region where the brain rests, in a minimally invasive way, through the nostrils

The base of the skull is the area behind the eyes and the nasal cavities; numerous nerves and blood vessels of the brain pass through it and it is the area of the human body that is most difficult to access.

The most frequent tumours that affect this region are meningiomas, tumours of the pituitary gland, carcinomas and melanomas. Of these, approximately half are benign and the other half malignant or cancerous.

In the past, surgical treatment of these tumours involved long operations, 12-14 hours, with facial incisions and a long and complicated post-operative period. Currently, minimally invasive surgery techniques allow an endoscopic approach through the nasal cavity, without opening the skull or face. This facilitates the possibility of operating on areas that were inaccessible until now. It means an improvement in functional results, the absence of facial scars and a shorter hospital stay, among other benefits.

The progress in the approach of tumours in the skull base has been produced thanks to the collaboration of different professionals since this type of surgery, due to its complexity, requires the simultaneous participation of multidisciplinary specialists.

One example is the endonasal endoscopic surgery of the skull base where the otolaryngologist and neurosurgeon work as a 4-handed team.