A surgery route for a rare tumor deep in the skull
Original title: Minimal Anterior and Posterior Combined Transpetrosal Approach for Posterior Clinoid Process Meningiomas.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a small look back at 5 people who already had this surgery.
The short version
Five people had a rare, hard to reach brain tumor removed with this surgery route.
What was studied. Doctors looked back at 5 patients with a rare tumor called a posterior clinoid process meningioma. All 5 had surgery between 2018 and 2024 using a route called the MAPC transpetrosal approach, which drills only a small part of the bone.
What they found. The whole tumor was taken out in 2 patients (40%), and part of it was taken out in 3 patients (60%). Some patients had nerve problems after surgery, mostly with eye movement, but these got better within 3 months. No one died from the surgery, and there were no spinal fluid leaks, vision loss, or blood vessel problems. Over a follow up of about 55 months, no tumor came back.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: For people with this rare tumor, this surgery route may be one safe way to reach it. It let the surgeons remove as much tumor as they safely could, and the nerve problems that showed up went away.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean the surgery is proven to be better than other options. It was a look back at just 5 patients at one hospital, with no comparison group. Part of the tumor was left behind in 3 of them, and 2 needed radiation after. It is not a cure, and it only applies to this one rare tumor type.
Source: PubMed, August 20, 2026 · Read the original
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