Advance on endoscopic skull base surgery

Endoscopic skull base surgery started from 1990s, and has undergone fast development in the past 20 years. It has involved various skull base regions from the anterior skull base to the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) and jugular foramen, including intra- and extra-cranial communicating lesions and intradural lesions, and further improved total section rate of skull base neoplasms and success rate of skull base reconstruction. At the moment, the improvement in surgical techniques, like "two-surgeon, four-hand" technique and use of radiofrequency coblation has rendered endoscopic procedures capable of managing complex pathologies. Intraoperative neuronavigation systems contribute to safe and complete removal of skull base tumors. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2019.03.00