Multi-layer reconstruction has become standard in endoscopic skull base surgery. The inlay component used can vary among autografts, allografts, xenografts and synthetics, primarily based on surgeon preference. The short- and long-term outcomes of collagen matrix in skull base reconstruction are described.

A case series of patients who underwent endoscopic skull base reconstruction with collagen matrix inlay were assessed. Immediate peri-operative outcomes (cerebrospinal fluid leak, meningitis, ventriculitis, intracranial bleeding, epistaxis, seizures) and delayed complications (delayed healing, meningoencephalocele, prolapse of reconstruction, delayed cerebrospinal fluid leak, ascending meningitis) were examined.

Of 120 patients (51.0 ± 17.5 years, 41.7 per cent female), peri-operative complications totalled 12.7 per cent (cerebrospinal fluid leak, 3.3 per cent; meningitis, 3.3 per cent; other intracranial infections, 2.5 per cent; intracranial bleeding, 1.7 per cent; epistaxis, 1.7 per cent; and seizures, 0 per cent). Delayed complications did not occur in any patients.

Collagen matrix is an effective inlay material. It provides robust long-term separation between sinus and cranial cavities, and avoids donor site morbidity, but carries additional cost.

An increasing number of transnasal endoscopic surgical procedures are being performed, and these procedures are now also utilised in the management of malignant sinonasal tumours. This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of endoscopic resection of sinonasal malignancies, with or without chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Between 2000 and 2009, six patients with sinonasal malignancies (diagnosed on pre-operative biopsy) underwent endoscopic resection at our hospital. The histopathological diagnoses varied and included squamous cell carcinoma, olfactory neuroblastoma, chordoma, extramedullary plasmacytoma and haemangiopericytoma.

Surgical resection was combined with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy in four cases. The mean follow-up period was 43 months. One patient suffered local recurrence of chordoma, 84 months after the first operation, but this was successfully treated with proton beam radiotherapy.

These results suggest that endoscopic resection may be a valid alternative to conventional resection in selected cases of malignant sinonasal tumour.

To evaluate the effect of meticulous endoscopic surgery, including opening of all involved sinus cells, on the subsequent symptoms and endoscopic findings of patients with massive nasal polyposis.

One hundred patients with massive nasal polyposis resistant to medical treatment were selected. We documented each patient's demographic data, associated diseases, endoscopic findings, Lund–Mackay score and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT22) symptom score. All patients were followed up for at least two years to evaluate any recurrence.

Of the 100 patients, 20 per cent had a history of asthma and 27 per cent had undergone previous surgery. All underwent endoscopic sinus surgery. After two years of follow up, 8 per cent had recurrence requiring surgery. Recurrence was significantly associated with a history of asthma (p < 0.001) and the histopathological presence of eosinophilia (p = 0.014).

Meticulous endoscopic opening of all involved sinus cells can be a safe and effective means of controlling massive nasal polyposis, with an acceptable recurrence rate.

Mucormycosis is an aggressive fungal infection which may still cause fatal complications. However, the rarity of this disease has made optimal treatment a controversial issue. This study aimed to evaluate the use of topical amphotericin B in endoscopic management of rhinocerebral mucormycosis.

Thirty patients with infection limited to the nose and sinuses were selected. Patients underwent endoscopic debridement of all necrotic tissue; cottonoid pledgets soaked in amphotericin B solution were then placed in the nasal cavity. Subsequently, long-term antifungal therapy was administered.

The overall survival rate was 60 per cent (18 cases); survival rates in the diabetic and malignancy groups were 70.58 and 40 per cent, respectively. Apart from predisposing factors, orbital and maxillary sinus involvement also had a significant correlation with patient outcome.

Topical use of amphotericin B combined with endoscopic surgical debridement, followed by intravenous amphotericin B treatment, may constitute acceptable management for selected patients, with less morbidity than conventional treatments.

To present a case of a child with a desmoplastic fibroma of the vidian canal, compressing the vidian nerve.

A 12-year-old girl with several years' history of right-sided facial pain was referred to our institution. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans showed an expansile mass involving the right vidian canal. The patient underwent a complete endoscopic surgical resection aided by the FusionTM ENT navigation system. This was performed through a transnasal, trans-septal, trans-sphenoidal route via the right nostril, and achieved macroscopic clearance with minimal peri-operative morbidity. A biopsy of the lesion showed a fibro-osseous lesion consistent with desmoplastic fibroma.

Diagnosis and resection of this rare lesion at an earlier stage would have avoided delays in resolving the child's disabling pain. This emphasises the importance of early referral of unusual cases to tertiary centres.

To describe a novel technique of delivering mitomycin C safely via endoscopic sinus surgery.

Mitomycin C was applied in the median frontal drainage pathway of a 44-year-old woman suffering from recalcitrant chronic frontal sinusitis. The mitomycin C was soaked onto a neurosurgical patty, which was delivered through a nasopharyngeal tube trimmed to ensure delivery directly to the desired area, thus sparing adjacent mucosa.

Mitomycin C has been suggested to have a useful role in reducing post-operative scarring after endonasal surgery. The long term safety of topical mitomycin C is not yet known, and inadvertent topical application to adjacent mucosa should be avoided. The described technique achieves this in a simple manner, and can be easily applied to other locations.

Cerebrospinal fluid leakage is the most common complication of endoscopic trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery. However, there is no uniformly accepted way of managing this complication when it occurs intra-operatively. This paper describes a quick, simple technique, involving layered fibrin glue and gelatin sponge, which does not compromise post-operative patient follow up.

Retrospective review of all endoscopic pituitary surgery cases conducted at a single institution since the introduction of this technique in 2002.

A total of 120 endoscopic pituitary operations were performed (96 primary procedures and 24 revisions). All intra-operative cerebrospinal fluid leaks were managed using the described method, with a failure rate of 3.6 per cent. The overall post-operative leakage rate was 1.7 per cent.

This simple, conservative technique avoids the need for further dissection and the use of non-absorbable foreign material, and has a low incidence of post-operative cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

Ossifying fibromyxoid tumour is a recently described, rare but morphologically distinctive soft tissue neoplasm characterised by a combination of myxoid and/or fibrous stroma with areas of ossification. Although most authors postulate a neuroectodermal origin for this peculiar tumour, there is no agreement in the literature regarding its histopathogenesis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ossifying fibromyxoid tumour involving the sphenoid sinus.

Tumour of low cell density, composed of small, spindle-shaped or stellate cells with small, irregular nuclei set in a fibromyxoid stroma.

Following discussion at the skull base multidisciplinary team meeting, a combined surgical team including an otorhinolaryngologist and a neurosurgeon carried out resection of the lesion, using an endoscopic transnasal approach, followed by reconstruction of the defect.

An awareness of the distinctive histopathological features of ossifying fibromyxoid tumour, and of its clinical effects, is crucial to establishing a definitive diagnosis and thereby instituting appropriate management. This case report also reinforces the evolving role of the endoscopic transnasal approach in the management of inflammatory and neoplastic disease involving the skull base. This is increasingly being made possible by close collaboration between multiple surgical specialties, including otorhinolaryngology and neurosurgery.