Surgery for XXXX : a comprehensive review of outcomes in the skull base surgery era.

@entity1 @entity129 @entity548 @entity1276 @entity5 @entity2123 @entity51 @entity1653 @entity281 @entity204
Skull base surgery has evolved to a point that its focus is now shifting to outcome analysis. To do so for @entity1653 is difficult. The rarity of the @entity5 , different treatment philosophies, and variations in reporting complicate the outcome analysis. With this limitation in mind, we analyzed the literature on this disease and report the combined outcomes in a unified fashion in hopes that it will serve as a starting point for further prospective analysis. Data was extracted from all available reports on MEDLINE/PubMed published in English. All studies were retrospective and uncontrolled. The majority of studies represent the experience of a single surgeon at a single institution. Of the 19 studies with detailed demographic and outcome data, no data met criteria for meta-analysis. A total of 1000 @entity1 were reported. The mean age of the @entity1 was 50 years. The male to female ratio is 1:3. GTR (gross total resection) was reported in 49% of @entity1 . Thirty-four percent of @entity1 experienced some @entity51 in the early postoperative period (<3 months). The most common morbidities reported were @entity129 (34.4% [range: 20 to 79%]) with @entity2123 accounting for 19%, followed by @entity51 (14%), @entity281 rates (1.6%), CSF leaks (5%), @entity548 (1.2%), and @entity1276 (1%). @entity204 within 1 year of surgery was reported for 1.4% of @entity1 . Once considered untreatable, @entity1653 can now be approached relatively safely. There, however, still remains an    34% morbidity with the most common being cranial nerve. Despite this, >75% of @entity1 return to independence at 1 year, many of which will resume employment. The nature of this study limits the conclusions that can be drawn; however, it provides some generalizations that may help guide @entity1 questions regarding treatment outcomes.
