PitSurgRT: real-time localization of critical anatomical structures in endoscopic pituitary surgery.

PURPOSE: Endoscopic pituitary surgery entails navigating through the nasal cavity and sphenoid sinus to access the sella using an endoscope. This procedure is intricate due to the proximity of crucial anatomical structures (e.g. carotid arteries and optic nerves) to pituitary tumours, and any unintended damage can lead to severe complications including blindness and death. Intraoperative guidance during this surgery could support improved localization of the critical structures leading to reducing the risk of complications. METHODS: A deep learning network PitSurgRT is proposed for real-time localization of critical structures in endoscopic pituitary surgery. The network uses high-resolution net (HRNet) as a backbone with a multi-head for jointly localizing critical anatomical structures while segmenting larger structures simultaneously. Moreover, the trained model is optimized and accelerated by using TensorRT. Finally, the model predictions are shown to neurosurgeons, to test their guidance capabilities. RESULTS: Compared with the state-of-the-art method, our model significantly reduces the mean error in landmark detection of the critical structures from 138.76 to 54.40 pixels in a 1280 × 720-pixel image. Furthermore, the semantic segmentation of the most critical structure, sella, is improved by 4.39% IoU. The inference speed of the accelerated model achieves 298 frames per second with floating-point-16 precision. In the study of 15 neurosurgeons, 88.67% of predictions are considered accurate enough for real-time guidance. CONCLUSION: The results from the quantitative evaluation, real-time acceleration, and neurosurgeon study demonstrate the proposed method is highly promising in providing real-time intraoperative guidance of the critical anatomical structures in endoscopic pituitary surgery.

Current and Future Advances in Surgical Therapy for Pituitary Adenoma.

The vital physiological role of the pituitary gland, alongside its proximity to critical neurovascular structures, means that pituitary adenomas can cause significant morbidity or mortality. While enormous advancements have been made in the surgical care of pituitary adenomas, numerous challenges remain, such as treatment failure and recurrence. To meet these clinical challenges, there has been an enormous expansion of novel medical technologies (eg, endoscopy, advanced imaging, artificial intelligence). These innovations have the potential to benefit each step of the patient's journey, and ultimately, drive improved outcomes. Earlier and more accurate diagnosis addresses this in part. Analysis of novel patient data sets, such as automated facial analysis or natural language processing of medical records holds potential in achieving an earlier diagnosis. After diagnosis, treatment decision-making and planning will benefit from radiomics and multimodal machine learning models. Surgical safety and effectiveness will be transformed by smart simulation methods for trainees. Next-generation imaging techniques and augmented reality will enhance surgical planning and intraoperative navigation. Similarly, surgical abilities will be augmented by the future operative armamentarium, including advanced optical devices, smart instruments, and surgical robotics. Intraoperative support to surgical team members will benefit from a data science approach, utilizing machine learning analysis of operative videos to improve patient safety and orientate team members to a common workflow. Postoperatively, neural networks leveraging multimodal datasets will allow early detection of individuals at risk of complications and assist in the prediction of treatment failure, thus supporting patient-specific discharge and monitoring protocols. While these advancements in pituitary surgery hold promise to enhance the quality of care, clinicians must be the gatekeepers of the translation of such technologies, ensuring systematic assessment of risk and benefit prior to clinical implementation. In doing so, the synergy between these innovations can be leveraged to drive improved outcomes for patients of the future.

The cruciform drain: a technical note on the surgical management of cystic lesions of the sella.

BACKGROUND: The postoperative recurrence of cystic lesions of the sella is frequent and may require further surgery for re-drainage. OBJECTIVE: To tackle this problem, we propose to insert a small cross-shaped drain coursing from the cyst lumen to the suprasellar cistern. At this early stage of innovation, the technique is primarily intended for patients who present with a recurrence. METHODS: The cruciform drain is fashioned from the tip of a ventricular catheter and is inserted under endoscopic vision. We retrospectively reviewed the pre- and postoperative records of patients in whom this technique was implemented. RESULTS: A cruciform drain was placed in five patients since the introduction of the technique into our practice in 2018. The use of the cruciform drain did not impact upon the expected surgical workflow nor was it associated with adverse intraoperative events, but three patients did develop a postoperative CSF leak that was successfully treated in all cases. None of the patients showed re-collection of their cysts on early radiological follow-up. CONCLUSION: The cruciform drain is intended to prevent the renewed build-up of cystic fluid by allowing it to flow through and around the drain into the subarachnoid space. We have modified our repair protocol in response to the observed high CSF leak rate, as a basis for further development of the technique. Studies involving long-term follow-up will also be required to assess its efficacy in reducing cyst recurrence.

Process analysis of the patient pathway for automated data collection: an exemplar using pituitary surgery.

Introduction: Automation of routine clinical data shows promise in relieving health systems of the burden associated with manual data collection. Identifying consistent points of documentation in the electronic health record (EHR) provides salient targets to improve data entry quality. Using our pituitary surgery service as an exemplar, we aimed to demonstrate how process mapping can be used to identify reliable areas of documentation in the patient pathway to target structured data entry interventions. Materials and methods: This mixed methods study was conducted in the largest pituitary centre in the UK. Purposive snowball sampling identified frontline stakeholders for process mapping to produce a patient pathway. The final patient pathway was subsequently validated against a real-world dataset of 50 patients who underwent surgery for pituitary adenoma. Events were categorized by frequency and mapped to the patient pathway to determine critical data points. Results: Eighteen stakeholders encompassing all members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) were consulted for process mapping. The commonest events recorded were neurosurgical ward round entries (N = 212, 14.7%), pituitary clinical nurse specialist (CNS) ward round entries (N = 88, 6.12%) and pituitary MDT treatment decisions (N = 88, 6.12%) representing critical data points. Operation notes and neurosurgical ward round entries were present for every patient. 43/44 (97.7%) had a pre-operative pituitary MDT entry, pre-operative clinic letter, a post-operative clinic letter, an admission clerking entry, a discharge summary, and a post-operative histopathology pituitary multidisciplinary (MDT) team entries. Conclusion: This is the first study to produce a validated patient pathway of patients undergoing pituitary surgery, serving as a comparison to optimise this patient pathway. We have identified salient targets for structured data entry interventions, including mandatory datapoints seen in every admission and have also identified areas to improve documentation adherence, both of which support movement towards automation.

Specialised Surgical Instruments for Endoscopic and Endoscope-Assisted Neurosurgery: A Systematic Review of Safety, Efficacy and Usability.

While there have been great strides in endoscopic and endoscope-assisted neurosurgical approaches, particularly in the treatment of deep-sited brain and skull base tumours, the greatest technical barrier to their adoption has been the availability of suitable surgical instruments. This systematic review seeks to identify specialised instruments for these approaches and evaluate their safety, efficacy and usability. Conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, SCOPUS and Web of Science were searched. Original research studies that reported the use of specialised mechanical instruments that manipulate tissue in human patients, cadavers or surgical models were included. The results identified 50 specialised instruments over 62 studies. Objective measures of safety were reported in 32 out of 62 studies, and 20 reported objective measures of efficacy. Instruments were broadly safe and effective with one instrument malfunction noted. Measures of usability were reported in 15 studies, with seven reporting on ergonomics and eight on the instruments learning curve. Instruments with reports on usability were generally considered to be ergonomic, though learning curve was often considered a disadvantage. Comparisons to standard instruments were made in eight studies and were generally favourable. While there are many specialised instruments for endoscopic and endoscope-assisted neurosurgery available, the evidence for their safety, efficacy and usability is limited with non-standardised reporting and few comparative studies to standard instruments. Future innovation should be tailored to unmet clinical needs, and evaluation guided by structured development processes.

Robotic Handle Prototypes for Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery: Pre-clinical Randomised Controlled Trial of Performance and Ergonomics.

Endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery is a promising alternative to transcranial approaches. However, standard instruments lack articulation, and thus, could benefit from robotic technologies. The aim of this study was to develop an ergonomic handle for a handheld robotic instrument intended to enhance this procedure. Two different prototypes were developed based on ergonomic guidelines within the literature. The first is a forearm-mounted handle that maps the surgeon's wrist degrees-of-freedom to that of the robotic end-effector; the second is a joystick-and-trigger handle with a rotating body that places the joystick to the position most comfortable for the surgeon. These handles were incorporated into a custom-designed surgical virtual simulator and were assessed for their performance and ergonomics when compared with a standard neurosurgical grasper. The virtual task was performed by nine novices with all three devices as part of a randomised crossover user-study. Their performance and ergonomics were evaluated both subjectively by themselves and objectively by a validated observational checklist. Both handles outperformed the standard instrument with the rotating joystick-body handle offering the most substantial improvement in terms of balance between performance and ergonomics. Thus, it is deemed the more suitable device to drive instrumentation for endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery.

A Novel Intraoperative Ultrasound Probe for Transsphenoidal Surgery: First-in-human study.

Background. Ultrasound has been explored as an alternative, less bulky, less time-consuming and less expensive means of intraoperative imaging in pituitary surgery. However, its use has been limited by the size of its probes relative to the transsphenoidal corridor. We developed a novel prototype that is more slender than previously reported forward-viewing probes and, in this report, we assess its feasibility and safety in an initial patient cohort. Method. The probe was integrated into the transsphenoidal approach in patients with pituitary adenoma, following a single-centre prospective proof of concept study design, as defined by the Innovation, Development, Exploration, Assessment and Long-Term Study (IDEAL) guidelines for assessing innovation in surgery (IDEAL stage 1 - Idea phase). Results. The probe was employed in 5 cases, and its ability to be used alongside the standard surgical equipment was demonstrated in each case. No adverse events were encountered. The average surgical time was 20 minutes longer than that of 30 contemporaneous cases operated without intraoperative ultrasound. Conclusion. We demonstrate the safety and feasibility of our novel ultrasound probe during transsphenoidal procedures to the pituitary fossa, and, as a next step, plan to integrate the device into a surgical navigation system (IDEAL Stage 2a - Development phase).

The clinical outcomes of imaging modalities for surgical management Cushing's disease - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cushing's disease presents major diagnostic and management challenges. Although numerous preoperative and intraoperative imaging modalities have been deployed, it is unclear whether these investigations have improved surgical outcomes. Our objective was to investigate whether advances in imaging improved outcomes for Cushing's disease. Methods: Searches of PubMed and EMBASE were conducted. Studies reporting on imaging modalities and clinical outcomes after surgical management of Cushing's disease were included. Multilevel multivariable meta-regressions identified predictors of outcomes, adjusting for confounders and heterogeneity prior to investigating the effects of imaging. Results: 166 non-controlled single-arm studies were included, comprising 13181 patients over 44 years.The overall remission rate was 77.0% [CI: 74.9%-79.0%]. Cavernous sinus invasion (OR: 0.21 [CI: 0.07-0.66]; p=0.010), radiologically undetectable lesions (OR: 0.50 [CI: 0.37-0.69]; p<0.0001), previous surgery (OR=0.48 [CI: 0.28-0.81]; p=0.008), and lesions ≥10mm (OR: 0.63 [CI: 0.35-1.14]; p=0.12) were associated with lower remission. Less stringent thresholds for remission was associated with higher reported remission (OR: 1.37 [CI: 1.1-1.72]; p=0.007). After adjusting for this heterogeneity, no imaging modality showed significant differences in remission compared to standard preoperative MRI.The overall recurrence rate was 14.5% [CI: 12.1%-17.1%]. Lesion ≥10mm was associated with greater recurrence (OR: 1.83 [CI: 1.13-2.96]; p=0.015), as was greater duration of follow-up (OR: 1.53 (CI: 1.17-2.01); p=0.002). No imaging modality was associated with significant differences in recurrence.Despite significant improvements in detection rates over four decades, there were no significant changes in the reported remission or recurrence rates. Conclusion: A lack of controlled comparative studies makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Within this limitation, the results suggest that despite improvements in radiological detection rates of Cushing's disease over the last four decades, there were no changes in clinical outcomes. Advances in imaging alone may be insufficient to improve surgical outcomes. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42020187751.

Automated operative workflow analysis of endoscopic pituitary surgery using machine learning: development and preclinical evaluation (IDEAL stage 0).

OBJECTIVE: Surgical workflow analysis involves systematically breaking down operations into key phases and steps. Automatic analysis of this workflow has potential uses for surgical training, preoperative planning, and outcome prediction. Recent advances in machine learning (ML) and computer vision have allowed accurate automated workflow analysis of operative videos. In this Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study (IDEAL) stage 0 study, the authors sought to use Touch Surgery for the development and validation of an ML-powered analysis of phases and steps in the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach (eTSA) for pituitary adenoma resection, a first for neurosurgery. METHODS: The surgical phases and steps of 50 anonymized eTSA operative videos were labeled by expert surgeons. Forty videos were used to train a combined convolutional and recurrent neural network model by Touch Surgery. Ten videos were used for model evaluation (accuracy, F1 score), comparing the phase and step recognition of surgeons to the automatic detection of the ML model. RESULTS: The longest phase was the sellar phase (median 28 minutes), followed by the nasal phase (median 22 minutes) and the closure phase (median 14 minutes). The longest steps were step 5 (tumor identification and excision, median 17 minutes); step 3 (posterior septectomy and removal of sphenoid septations, median 14 minutes); and step 4 (anterior sellar wall removal, median 10 minutes). There were substantial variations within the recorded procedures in terms of video appearances, step duration, and step order, with only 50% of videos containing all 7 steps performed sequentially in numerical order. Despite this, the model was able to output accurate recognition of surgical phases (91% accuracy, 90% F1 score) and steps (76% accuracy, 75% F1 score). CONCLUSIONS: In this IDEAL stage 0 study, ML techniques have been developed to automatically analyze operative videos of eTSA pituitary surgery. This technology has previously been shown to be acceptable to neurosurgical teams and patients. ML-based surgical workflow analysis has numerous potential uses-such as education (e.g., automatic indexing of contemporary operative videos for teaching), improved operative efficiency (e.g., orchestrating the entire surgical team to a common workflow), and improved patient outcomes (e.g., comparison of surgical techniques or early detection of adverse events). Future directions include the real-time integration of Touch Surgery into the live operative environment as an IDEAL stage 1 (first-in-human) study, and further development of underpinning ML models using larger data sets.

Intraoperative monitoring of visual evoked potentials in patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Transsphenoidal surgery is the gold standard for pituitary adenoma resection. Although rare, a serious complication of surgery is worsened vision post-operatively. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether, in patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma, intraoperative monitoring of visual evoked potentials (VEP) is a safe, reproducible, and effective technological adjunct in predicting postoperative visual function. METHODS: The PubMed and OVID platforms were searched between January 1993 and December 2020 to identify publications that (1) featured patients undergoing transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma, (2) used intraoperative optic nerve monitoring with VEP and (3) reported on safety or effectiveness. Reference lists were cross-checked and expert opinion sought to identify further publications. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included comprising ten case series and one prospective cohort study. All employed techniques to improve reliability. No safety issues were reported. The only comparative study included described a statistically significant improvement in post-operative visual field testing when VEP monitoring was used. The remaining case-series varied in conclusion. In nine studies, surgical manipulation was halted in the event of a VEP amplitude decrease suggesting a widespread consensus that this is a warning sign of injury to the anterior optic apparatus. CONCLUSIONS: Despite limited and low-quality published evidence regarding intra-operative VEP monitoring, our review suggests that it is a safe, reproducible, and increasingly effective technique of predicting postoperative visual deficits. Further studies specific to transsphenoidal surgery are required to determine its utility in protecting visual function in the resection of complex pituitary tumours.

Pituitary society expert Delphi consensus: operative workflow in endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection.

PURPOSE: Surgical workflow analysis seeks to systematically break down operations into hierarchal components. It facilitates education, training, and understanding of surgical variations. There are known educational demands and variations in surgical practice in endoscopic transsphenoidal approaches to pituitary adenomas. Through an iterative consensus process, we generated a surgical workflow reflective of contemporary surgical practice. METHODS: A mixed-methods consensus process composed of a literature review and iterative Delphi surveys was carried out within the Pituitary Society. Each round of the survey was repeated until data saturation and > 90% consensus was reached. RESULTS: There was a 100% response rate and no attrition across both Delphi rounds. Eighteen international expert panel members participated. An extensive workflow of 4 phases (nasal, sphenoid, sellar and closure) and 40 steps, with associated technical errors and adverse events, were agreed upon by 100% of panel members across rounds. Both core and case-specific or surgeon-specific variations in operative steps were captured. CONCLUSIONS: Through an international expert panel consensus, a workflow for the performance of endoscopic transsphenoidal pituitary adenoma resection has been generated. This workflow captures a wide range of contemporary operative practice. The agreed "core" steps will serve as a foundation for education, training, assessment and technological development (e.g. models and simulators). The "optional" steps highlight areas of heterogeneity of practice that will benefit from further research (e.g. methods of skull base repair). Further adjustments could be made to increase applicability around the world.

Skull base repair following endonasal pituitary and skull base tumour resection: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea (CSFR) remains a frequent complication of endonasal approaches to pituitary and skull base tumours. Watertight skull base reconstruction is important in preventing CSFR. We sought to systematically review the current literature of available skull base repair techniques. METHODS: Pubmed and Embase databases were searched for studies (2000-2020) that (a) reported on the endonasal resection of pituitary and skull base tumours, (b) focussed on skull base repair techniques and/or postoperative CSFR risk factors, and (c) included CSFR data. Roles, advantages and disadvantages of each repair method were detailed. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed where possible. RESULTS: 193 studies were included. Repair methods were categorised based on function and anatomical level. There was absolute heterogeneity in repair methods used, with no independent studies sharing the same repair protocol. Techniques most commonly used for low CSFR risk cases were fat grafts, fascia lata grafts and synthetic grafts. For cases with higher CSFR risk, multilayer regimes were utilized with vascularized flaps, gasket sealing and lumbar drains. Lumbar drain use for high CSFR risk cases was supported by a randomised study (Oxford CEBM: Grade B recommendation), but otherwise there was limited high-level evidence. Pooled CSFR incidence by approach was 3.7% (CI 3-4.5%) for transsphenoidal, 9% (CI 7.2-11.3%) for expanded endonasal, and 5.3% (CI 3.4-7%) for studies describing both. Further meaningful meta-analyses of repair methods were not performed due to significant repair protocol heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Modern reconstructive protocols are heterogeneous and there is limited evidence to suggest the optimal repair technique after pituitary and skull base tumour resection. Further studies are needed to guide practice.

An intuitive surgical handle design for robotic neurosurgery.

PURPOSE: The expanded endoscopic endonasal approach, a representative example of keyhole brain surgery, allows access to the pituitary gland and surrounding areas through the nasal and sphenoid cavities. Manipulating rigid instruments through these constrained spaces makes this approach technically challenging, and thus, a handheld robotic instrument could expand the surgeon's capabilities. In this study, we present an intuitive handle prototype for such a robotic instrument. METHODS: We have designed and fabricated a surgical instrument handle prototype that maps the surgeon's wrist directly to the robot joints. To alleviate the surgeon's wrist of any excessive strain and fatigue, the tool is mounted on the surgeon's forearm, making it parallel with the instrument's shaft. To evaluate the handle's performance and limitations, we constructed a surgical task simulator and compared our novel handle with a standard neurosurgical tool, with the tasks being performed by a consultant neurosurgeon. RESULTS: While using the proposed handle, the surgeon's average success rate was [Formula: see text], compared to [Formula: see text] when using a conventional tool. Additionally, the surgeon's body posture while using the suggested prototype was deemed acceptable by the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment ergonomic survey, while early results indicate the absence of a learning curve. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these preliminary results, the proposed handle prototype could offer an improvement over current neurosurgical tools and procedural ergonomics. By redirecting forces applied during the procedure to the forearm of the surgeon, and allowing for intuitive surgeon wrist to robot-joints movement mapping without compromising the robotic end effector's expanded workspace, we believe that this handle could prove a substantial step toward improved neurosurgical instrumentation.

Trends in cerebrospinal fluid leak rates following the extended endoscopic endonasal approach for anterior skull base meningioma: a meta-analysis over the last 20 years.

OBJECTIVE: The extended endoscopic approach provides unimpaired visualization and direct access to ventral skull base pathology, but is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in up to 25% of patients. To evaluate the impact of improved surgical techniques and devices to better repair skull base defects, we assessed published surgical outcomes of the extended endoscopic endonasal approach in the last two decades for a well-defined homogenous group of tuberculum sellae and olfactory groove meningioma patients. METHODS: Random-effects meta-analyses were performed for studies published between 2004 (first publications) and April 2020. We evaluated CSF leak as primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were gross total resection, improvement in visual outcomes in those presenting with a deficit, intraoperative arterial injury, and 30-day mortality. For the main analyses, publications were pragmatically grouped based on publication year in three categories: 2004-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2020. RESULTS: We included 29 studies describing 540 patients with tuberculum sellae and 115 with olfactory groove meningioma. The percentage patients with CSF leak dropped over time from 22% (95% CI: 6-43%) in studies published between 2004 and 2010, to 16% (95% CI: 11-23%) between 2011 and 2015, and 4% (95% CI: 1-9%) between 2016 and 2020. Outcomes of gross total resection, visual improvement, intraoperative arterial injury, and 30-day mortality remained stable over time CONCLUSIONS: We report a noticeable decrease in CSF leak over time, which might be attributed to the development and improvement of new closure techniques (e.g., Hadad-Bassagasteguy flap, and gasket seal), refined multilayer repair protocols, and lumbar drain usage.

CSF rhinorrhoea after endonasal intervention to the anterior skull base (CRANIAL): proposal for a prospective multicentre observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The endonasal transsphenoidal approach (TSA) has emerged as the preferred approach in order to treat pituitary adenoma and related sellar pathologies. The recently adopted expanded endonasal approach (EEA) has improved access to the ventral skull base whilst retaining the principles of minimally invasive surgery. Despite the advantages these approaches offer, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea remains a common complication. There is currently a lack of comparative evidence to guide the best choice of skull base reconstruction, resulting in considerable heterogeneity of current practice. This study aims to determine: (1) the scope of the methods of skull base repair; and (2) the corresponding rates of postoperative CSF rhinorrhoea in contemporary neurosurgical practice in the UK and Ireland. METHODS: We will adopt a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort design. All neurosurgical units in the UK and Ireland performing the relevant surgeries (TSA and EEA) will be eligible to participate. Eligible cases will be prospectively recruited over 6 months with 6 months of postoperative follow-up. Data points collected will include: demographics, tumour characteristics, operative data), and postoperative outcomes. Primary outcomes include skull base repair technique and CSF rhinorrhoea (biochemically confirmed and/or requiring intervention) rates. Pooled data will be analysed using descriptive statistics. All skull base repair methods used and CSF leak rates for TSA and EEA will be compared against rates listed in the literature. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Formal institutional ethical board review was not required owing to the nature of the study - this was confirmed with the Health Research Authority, UK. CONCLUSIONS: The need for this multicentre, prospective, observational study is highlighted by the relative paucity of literature and the resultant lack of consensus on the topic. It is hoped that the results will give insight into contemporary practice in the UK and Ireland and will inform future studies.

Endoscopic endonasal intracanalicular optic nerve decompression: how I do it.

BACKGROUND: The endoscopic endonasal approach for optic nerve decompression is suited for the management of non-traumatic optic neuropathy but remains underreported, presumably due to transcranial approaches still being favoured at individual centres. METHOD: The optic canal is approached endoscopically and transsphenoidally through the contralateral nostril. Its inferomedial wall is opened using an irrigated diamond drill, and neuronavigation is used to confirm anatomical bearings. CONCLUSION: This technique provides rapid and easy access to the inferomedial aspect of the optic canal and nerve. Optic nerve decompression through this approach is associated with low morbidity and should be considered as an alternative to transcranial approaches.

Rathke's cleft cysts following transsphenoidal surgery: long-term outcomes and development of an optimal follow-up strategy.

BACKGROUND: In patients with symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst, transsphenoidal surgery is highly effective at preventing further visual loss and usually allows for some recovery of vision. However, cyst recurrence and the need for re-operation are well recognized. To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate patterns of recurrence and long-term outcomes and to use this information to develop an optimal follow-up strategy. METHOD: A prospectively maintained database was searched over a 10-year period between 1 January 2008 and the 1 January 2018 to identify all adults that underwent transsphenoidal surgery with a new diagnosis of Rathke's cleft cyst. A retrospective case note review was performed for each patient to extract data on their presentation, investigation, treatment, and outcome. RESULTS: In all, 61 eligible patients were identified. The median follow-up was 34 months (range 2-112 months). In the 22 patients with pre-operative visual loss, the outcomes at 6 months were as follows: normal vision (2/22; 9.1%), improved but not normal (7/22; 31.8%), stable (12/22; 54.5%), worse but not blind (1/22; 4.5%), and blind (0/22; 0%). The overall rate of regrowth and re-operation in our study was 19.7 and 11.5%, respectively. The only factor that was significantly associated with recurrence was the presence of residual cystic disease on the post-operative MRI (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We propose a follow-up strategy that stratifies patients at "low risk" if there is no residual cyst, with increasing interval scans, or "high risk" if there is residual cyst, with annual visual assessment and scans.

Olfactory outcomes after transsphenoidal endonasal surgery.

Background: The endonasal approach is the gold standard for the resection of pituitary tumours, with either microscopic endonasal transsphenoidal (MET) or endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal (EET) technique. Advantages and disadvantages of both techniques have been widely described in the literature, although limited attention has been paid to its impact on the sense of smell.Objective: The present study aims to quantify the effect of transnasal surgery on pituitary patients and examine olfactory outcomes.Methods: A prospective cohort study assessing the sense of smell of 20 patients (10 MET and 10 EET) pre-operatively. Olfactory function was re-assessed 6 months after surgery, using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (Sensonics Inc., Haddon Heights, NJ).Results: The UPSIT (Sensonics Inc.) results showed a median pre-operative score of 33 (IQR 31-37.5) (normosmia). The median post-operative result was 25 (IQR 19.5-32), consistent with moderate microsmia. Twenty percent of the patients had normal olfactory function post-operatively, all of whom were from the EET group. Twenty percent had mild microsmia, equally divided in MET and EET subgroups. Seven patients had severe microsmia. Four patients were completely anosmic at 6 months follow-up.Conclusions: Patients undergoing a transsphenoidal procedure are at risk of olfactory disturbance post-operatively, which may include loss of the sense of smell. This information is relevant to the patients' perioperative experience, and should be incorporated into counselling with regards to outcomes and expectations. Although the study size is small, the study results suggest the ETS technique may be less traumatic for the olfactory function. A larger study powered to fully examine potential differences in olfactory outcomes following ETS and MTS is warranted.

Craniopharyngioma in children: trends from a third consecutive single-center cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The management of children with craniopharyngioma has evolved over time, with a trend toward less invasive neurosurgical approaches as surgeons have sought to balance oncological control and treatment-related morbidity. To this end, the aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the current management of children with craniopharyngioma compared to the previous management methods used at the authors' treatment center. METHODS: A prospectively maintained database was searched over a 14-year period between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2018, to identify all children 17 years of age or younger with a new diagnosis of craniopharyngioma. A retrospective case note review was performed for each child to extract data on the presentation, investigation, treatment, and outcome of their illness. Morbidity was assessed in the same fashion as in previous cohorts, according to the following categories: visual loss, pituitary dysfunction, hypothalamic dysfunction, neurological deficits, and cognitive impairment. RESULTS: In total, 59 children were identified with craniopharyngioma during the study period. A total of 92 operations were performed, including cyst drainage (35/92; 38.0%), craniotomy and resection (30/92; 32.6%), and transsphenoidal resection (16/92; 17.4%). Approximately two-thirds of all operations were performed using image guidance (66/92; 71.7%) and one-third were performed using endoscopy (27/92; 29.3%). The majority of children had adjuvant therapy comprising proton beam therapy (18/59; 30.5%) or conventional radiotherapy (16/59; 27.1%). The median follow-up duration was 44 months (range 1-142 months), and approximately one-half of the children had no evidence of residual disease on MRI studies (28/59; 47.5%). Of the remaining 31 children, there was a reduction in the volume of residual disease in 8 patients (8/59; 13.6%), stable residual disease in 18 (18/59; 30.5%), and tumor growth in 5 patients (5/59; 8.5%). There was significantly reduced morbidity (p < 0.05) in all categories in the current cohort compared with our last cohort (1996-2004). CONCLUSIONS: The authors' institutional experience of pediatric craniopharyngioma confirms a trend toward less invasive neurosurgical procedures, most of which are now performed with the benefit of image guidance or endoscopy. Moreover, the authors have identified an expanding role for more targeted radiotherapy for children with residual disease. These advances have allowed for tumor control comparable to that achieved in previous cohorts, but with significantly reduced morbidity and mortality.

Informed Consent for Patients Undergoing Transsphenoidal Excision of Pituitary Adenoma: Development and Evaluation of a Procedure-Specific Online Educational Resource.

OBJECTIVE: The results of recent high-profile delict and medical negligence cases now require doctors to take "reasonable care to ensure that the patient is aware of any material risks involved in any recommended treatment, and of any reasonable alternative or variant treatments." Thus, we report the development and evaluation of a procedure-specific online educational resource to support the informed consent process for patients undergoing transsphenoidal excision of pituitary adenomas. METHODS: An interactive educational multimedia website was developed using a combination of text, images, and videos. A telephone questionnaire was devised to evaluate patients' understanding that included 15 true/false questions. The questionnaire was administered to separate cohorts of patients on the waiting list for transsphenoidal excision of a pituitary adenoma before and after introduction of the website. The patients were also asked to rate the extent to which they found the website easy to understand and useful on a 10-point Likert scale. Data were compared using the χ2 and Mann-Whitney U test, with P < 0.05 considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: Ten consecutive patients completed the questionnaire before the introduction of the website and nine afterward. The median questionnaire scores were significantly greater after the introduction of the website (14 of 15 vs. 12 of 15; P = 0.002), and all patients subjectively found the website easy to understand and useful (10 of 10 in both groups). CONCLUSIONS: An interactive educational multimedia website appears to be a helpful adjunct to the informed consent process for patients undergoing transsphenoidal excision of a pituitary adenoma.