Practical Endoscopic Skull Base Surgery is a publication on rapidly emerging field that requires a combination of excellent endoscopic and 3-dimensional anatomical knowledge, adequate instrumentation and equipment, as well as wise implementation of different new technologies. Over the past 2 decades, a large number of studies have been published describing experiences with numerous endoscopic endonasal skull base approaches for management of a multitude of pathologies. This book serves as a remarkable assortment of these approaches that includes contributions from well-known experts.
After reviewing the history of general endoscopy and the trans-sphenoid surgery, the authors describe, in a clear simplified fashion, the anatomical landmarks in relation to skull base approaches. Following this, a chapter on skull base imaging covers the diversity of lesions in each anatomical location and, of particular concern, differentiation of these from arterial aneurysms. Although the book contains a good number of radiographic images, it is not a diagnostic atlas, nor is it meant to be. Chapter 4 then focuses on the different types of endoscopes, light sources, and new technologies. The chapter gives a general idea about the specific design of different surgical instruments used in this area. An up-to-date description of various imageguidance modalities is dealt with in chapter 5.
In the next sections of the book (chapters 6-13), the authors nicely categorize different endoscopic skull base procedures depending on the approach used and the target anatomical location to be addressed. These approaches provide an access to different anatomical sites in the anterior, middle, and posterior cranial fossae, yet the authors have used the term ''approaches to