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Craniopharyngioma: the pendulum of surgical management

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Abstract

Background

For a long time, craniopharyngiomas have been considered surgically attractive tumours. The fact that they are rare, histologically benign, and located in a challenging (but considered accessible) area made them worthy surgical prizes.

Methods

As we have saved vision and “cured” many of these tumours, the insidious and devastating effects on quality of life for these children has become evident.

Discussion

The state-of-the-art in the surgical management of craniopharyngioma is now turning to multi-modality treatment strategies (combination surgery and radiotherapy) aiming to limit morbidity. Questions remain—what factors influence our surgical decision making? Do we understand the long-term effects of the radiotherapy now being employed? We review a series of craniopharyngiomas looking for variables that correlated with outcome as perceived in terms of quality of life and we review briefly the history of craniopharyngioma surgery and the relevant literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Neurochirurgie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015, Paris, France

    Christian Sainte-Rose, Stéphanie Puget, Michel Zerah & Alain Pierre-Kahn

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia

    Alison Wray

  3. Département de Cancérologie de l’Enfant et de l’Adolescent, Institut Gustave Roussy, 39 rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805, Villejuif Cedex, France

    Jacques Grill

  4. Service d’Endocrinologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Bicêtre, 211 avenue Daumesnil, 75012, Paris, France

    Raja Brauner

  5. Service de Neuroradiologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015, Paris, France

    Nathalie Boddaert

Authors
  1. Christian Sainte-Rose
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  2. Stéphanie Puget
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  3. Alison Wray
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  4. Michel Zerah
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  5. Jacques Grill
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  6. Raja Brauner
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  7. Nathalie Boddaert
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  8. Alain Pierre-Kahn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Sainte-Rose.

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Sainte-Rose, C., Puget, S., Wray, A. et al. Craniopharyngioma: the pendulum of surgical management. Childs Nerv Syst 21, 691–695 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-005-1209-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-005-1209-2

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