Fully Endoscopic Resection of Frontal Osteomas

BACKGROUND: Osteomas are the most common primary bone tumors of the calvaria, with an incidence of less than 0.5%. In skull vault osteomas, the exostotic form that grows from the outer table is more common than the enostotic ones which arise from the inner table and grow intracranially. Osteomas of the forehead are very noticeable and disfiguring; patients usually seek medical advice for cosmetic reasons. Forehead osteomas were traditionally excised via either a direct incision over the lesion using the naturally occurring creases or a conventional bicoronal flap. More recently, endoscopic approaches for excision of forehead osteomas were introduced. The results were very encouraging and the technique was adopted by many groups worldwide yet with many technical variations. In this chapter we elaborate on the surgical technique and nuances of the fully endoscopic resection of frontal osteomas.

METHODS: From a prospective database of endoscopic procedures maintained by the senior author, clinical data, imaging studies, operative charts, and videos of cases of forehead osteomas were retrieved and analyzed. The pertinent literature was also reviewed.

RESULTS: The surgical technique of the fully endoscopic resection of frontal osteomas was formulated.

CONCLUSION: The endoscopic technique has many advantages over the conventional procedures. In our hands, the technique has proven to be less time-consuming, efficient, and minimally invasive with excellent cosmetic results.