In conjunction with the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, the Department of Neurological Surgery is one of the few programs in the country with the expertise and ability to remove skull base tumors using a variety of open and minimally invasive techniques. Our program serves as a comprehensive resource for patients and physicians in the removal of tumors, and the treatment of disorders located at the base of the brain.
Our neurosurgery department performs a broad scope of procedures involving the anterior and posterior skull base, often for patients with pituitary adenomas. Significant work examining the recovery of pituitary function after decompressive transsphenoidal surgery has been based at this center. We have also developed a unique technique of examining intrasellar pressure and correlating recovery of visual and endocrine function based on this parameter.
A large number of patients undergo intracranial procedures for skull base tumors including meningiomas as well as vestibular schwannomas at our institution. These are often operated on with a neuro-otologist. Local expertise in vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas makes this important resource available for patients with neurofibromatosis. A number of unusual tumors, such as clival chordomas, invasive nasopharyngeal tumors, and craniopharyngiomas, contribute to the variety of skull base tumors seen at Case Medical Center.