Minimally Invasive Pituitary Surgery:
Press Release
Jefferson will host a webcast featuring the newest approach for the removal of pituitary tumors – minimally invasive endoscopic pituitary surgery – on Tuesday, May 23, 2006, at 4:30 pm. Viewers will also be able to ask questions online of the surgical team during the surgery.
Jefferson experts in Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery will perform this procedure through the nasal passages and sinus cavities without external incisions. New state-of-the-art technology has allowed for improved visualization and access to these difficult tumors which has resulted in a shorter hospital stay, a faster recovery and improved outcomes. The webcast can be viewed at www.jeffersonhospital.org/webcast.
Co-directors of the Jefferson Center for Minimally Invasive Cranial Base Surgery and Endoscopic Neurosurgery, Marc Rosen, M.D., Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, and James Evans, M.D., Neurosurgery, will perform the procedure. David W. Andrews, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair of Neurosurgery, will narrate.
“The webcast will allow both patients and colleagues to see this leading edge surgical technique that gives us a new way to treat patients with benign and malignant brain, cranial base and sino-nasal tumors,” said Dr. Rosen.
“Our multidisciplinary team of medical experts has been able to dramatically improve patient outcomes and reduce length of hospitalization using this new technique,” said Dr. Evans. “This is sure to become the standard of care.”
The Jefferson Center for Minimally Invasive Cranial Base Surgery and Endoscopic Neurosurgery is a comprehensive center in the Philadelphia area where surgeons are able to remove skull-base tumors through minimally invasive surgery.
Traditionally, cranial base tumors have been removed through large surgical openings in the patient’s skull and by removing facial bones. Instead, Jefferson’s team applies an advanced, minimally invasive approach which is less destructive and provides improved visualization. The surgeons first use a thin endoscope with a camera attached to enter a patient’s nose and sinuses, allowing them to approach the tumors without external incisions. Guided by the endoscope and enhanced computer navigation, the surgeons open small holes in the base of the skull and membrane covering the brain.
Jefferson’s surgeons are finding that better visualization and access to these difficult lesions has enabled improved resection, preservation of function, decreased post-operative morbidity, decreased hospital stay and fewer complications.
In addition to pituitary tumor, other conditions that may be effectively managed by minimally invasive endoscopic techniques include: craniopharyngioma, chordoma, chondrosarcoma, meningioma, sino-nasal malignancy, juvenile nasal angiofibroma, cerebrospinal fluid leak, meningocele, encephalocele, colloid cyst, as well as other intracranial and intraventricular tumors.
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
For more information about the new Jefferson Center for Minimally Invasive Cranial Base Surgery and Endoscopic Neurosurgery, or to make an appointment with a Jefferson physician, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW.
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