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Anterior clinoidectomy (AC) is a key microsurgical step for the safe and successful management of parasellar pathologies that involve the anterior clinoid process (ACP) and the optic canal. Traditionally, extra and intradural ACs are performed separately according to the surgeon's experience or preference. The objective is to present and discuss the tailored AC concept through illustrative cases. We conducted a retrospective record review of three patients who underwent AC as a surgical step for the treatment of parasellar pathologies that involve the ACP and optic canal. A review of the relevant literature on AC was performed in the PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases. In all three cases, the pterional craniotomy was the preferred approach for AC. Case 1, a 47-year-old female patient with type III anterior clinoidal meningioma, underwent a tailored intradural technique (optic canal unroofing) with total tumor resection and complete visual recovery. Case 2, a 63-year-old female patient with a complex type II anterior clinoidal meningioma with extensive hyperostosis of the ACP, underwent a hybrid AC technique with complete removal of the tumor and visual improvement. Case 3, a 62-year-old female, underwent a tailored intradural AC for clipping an incidental carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm. Tailored AC aims to provide adequate exposure with less risk of neurovascular injury, allowing enough space to safely treat parasellar lesions. The type, size, and location of the lesion, as well as the surgeon’s experience, should always be considered for surgical planning.

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Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a syndrome characterized by elevated intracranial pressure, headache, and papilledema. It is frequently associated with obese women and can result in irreversible vision loss. The ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt has been proven to be superior to the lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt in IIH patients, with better clinical outcomes. It has been reported that the accurate placement of the ventricular catheter is highly important for shunt survival. However, a slit-like ventricle pattern, typically seen in the disease, has been considered a great concern and challenge for ventricular catheter placement, primarily for freehand technique. Frameless stereotaxy, ultrasound, and endoscopy have been described to improve the accuracy of catheter insertion. However, intraoperative image guidance is not widely accessible, especially in lower-resource countries, due to the high costs associated with its use. Techniques to improve the accuracy of the freehand VP shunt in IIH are scarce in the literature, and any effort to contribute to its development is valuable and helpful.

Background: Cavernous hemangiomas, more accurately defined as cavernous venous malformations, constitute the most common primary intraorbital tumors of adults comprising 4–9% of all tumors,[4] and the second most frequent cause of unilateral proptosis after thyroid-related orbitopathy.[3] Over 80% are located within the intraconal compartment, most commonly in the lateral aspect.[1] Surgical treatment for orbital cavernous hemangioma is generally required in symptomatic cases, optic nerve compression, and cosmetically disfiguring proptosis.[2] Transcranial approaches, the most familiar approaches for neurosurgeons, provide wide access to the entire superior and lateral orbit. They usually offer direct visualization, allowing for a safer dissection, while minimizing significant injury to the native neural and vascular anatomy of the orbit.[5] Although transcranial approaches continue to evolve, in many cases, they have been supplanted by endoscopic skull base approaches and modifications to deep lateral orbitotomy approaches.[5] Case Description: A 62-year-old male patient presented with slowly expanding left proptosis, which he had first noticed 3 years before presentation. He was already blind in his right eye due to a history of traumatic amaurosis in childhood. The left eye examination revealed severe proptosis with restricted eye movement in all directions and significant visual impairment (visual acuity of 20/300, expressed by Snellen test, with no improvement on correction). MRI of the orbit showed a large left superolateral intraconal cavernous hemangioma compressing and displacing the optic nerve, with the typical feature of slow gradual irregular enhancement with delayed washout on contrast-enhanced image. A one-piece modified orbitozygomatic approach was performed and a total en block resection was achieved. The bone flap was fixed with titanium miniplates and screws, the temporal muscle and the skin were closed in a standard fashion. The patient did not present any new deficit in the postoperative period. The patient had good functional and cosmetic outcomes with resolution of proptosis, restoration of eye movements, and improvement of visual acuity in the 3-month follow-up. Postoperative MRI showed total resection. Conclusion: The orbitozygomatic approach for large orbital cavernous hemangioma provides satisfactory orbital decompression and large working space, reduces traction, and increases visualization and freedom to dissect small vessels and nerves that may be tightly attached to the tumor pseudocapsule.