Endoscopic Transmaxillary Transposition of Temporalis Flap for Recurrent Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak Closure

Abstract

Objective To describe the technique of endoscopic transmaxillary temporalis muscle flap transposition for the repair of a persistent postoperative sphenoidal cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Design The repair of a recurrent cerebrospinal fluid leak for a patient who had undergone endoscopic transsphenoidal excision of an invasive silent corticotroph Hardy C and Knosp Grade IV pituitary adenoma was undertaken. The patient had completed postoperative radiotherapy for the residual tumor and presented with cerebrospinal fluid leak, 1 year later. The initial two attempts to repair the cerebrospinal fluid leak with free grafts failed. Therefore, an endoscopic transmaxillary transposition of the temporalis muscle flap was attempted to stop the cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Results The endoscopic transmaxillary transposition of the vascularized temporalis muscle flap onto the cerebrospinal fluid leak repair site resulted in successful closure of the cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Conclusion Endoscopic transmaxillary transposition of the temporalis flap resulted in closure of recurrent cerebrospinal fluid leak in a patient with recurrent pituitary adenoma, who had undergone previous surgery and radiotherapy. This technique has advantages over the endoscopic transpterygoid transposition of the same flap and could be used as a complementary technique in selected patients.

Keywords

cerebrospinal fluid leak - temporalis muscle flap - internal maxillary artery - sphenopalatine artery - pituitary adenoma

Note

This paper was presented during the Annual Conference of Skull Base Society of India at Bangalore, October 2015, and has been cleared by the institutional review board.

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