Abstract
The pathology of the parasellar space is composed of a large number of potential diagnoses owing to the vast morphology of structures comprising the region. Often, parasellar lesions extend superiorly and/or laterally from the sella, e.g., pituitary adenoma or carcinoma, and engulf adjacent structures such as the cavernous carotid laterally or the optic chiasm superiorly. Still other pathologies stem from the embryonic Rathke’s cleft such as the craniopharyngioma and Rathke’s cleft cyst. The differential diagnosis for a space-occupying lesion includes, but is not limited to, metastasis, infection, intraaxial brain tumor with extension and meningioma, epidermoid cyst, dermoid cyst, teratoma, germinoma, and neurocysticercosis. While each of these pathologies is unique, the options for surgical resection can be grouped into two overarching surgical approaches: transsphenoidal surgery and transcranial surgery.
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Bohnstedt, B.N., Eads, T., Weyhenmeyer, J., Cohen-Gadol, A.A. (2017). Transcranial Approaches to the Sellar and Parasellar Areas. In: Laws, Jr, E.R., Cohen-Gadol, A.A., Schwartz, T.H., Sheehan, J.P. (eds) Transsphenoidal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56691-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56691-7_12
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