Skull Base Surgery

Skull base tumors are tumors in the skull base, the bottom part of the skull that the brain rests on. These tumors can be cancerous or benign (not cancer). Skull base tumors can be tricky to treat because they're often close to important areas of the brain. It takes skill and expertise to treat these tumors without damaging major nerves, blood vessels, or the brainstem. 

Skull Base Surgery at UVA Health

At UVA Health, we have the advanced tools and vast experience needed to treat tumors in this critical part of the brain. You can trust in our high level of accuracy. We have options to help you get the right care and avoid risky, stressful surgery. These procedures allow tumor removal with less damage to the brain.

High-Tech Operating Rooms 

During surgery, we don't want to make mistakes. Plus, we want to know exactly how you're doing. We use operating room monitors to constantly check your nervous system function. Real-time measurements of your facial nerves, auditory nerves, vocal cords, and sensory and motor nerves lowers surgery complications. 

Gamma Knife

Using lasers instead of knives, this high-tech tool pinpoints and destroys tumors in the skull. We use this for faster planning of complex tumors. Learn more about Gamma Knife.

Conditions We Treat With Skull Base Surgery

• Acoustic neuroma
• Adenoid cystic carcinoma (sinonasal/salivary)
• Arachnoid cyst
• Basilar invagination
• Brain metastases
• Cerebellopontine angle tumors
• Chiari malformation
• Cholesterol granuloma
• Chondroma
• Chondrosarcoma

• Chordoma

• Craniopharyngioma
• CSF (spinal fluid) otorrhea 
• CSF (spinal fluid) rhinorrhea
• Esthesioneuroblastoma (olfactory neuroblastoma)
• Fibrous dysplasia
• Inverted papilloma
• Meningioma
• Meningocele/encephalocele
• Neurofibroma
• Non-functioning pituitary adenoma

• Odontoid pannus

• Odontoid synovial cyst
• Optic nerve glioma
• Osteoma
• Osteosarcoma
• Paraganglioma/glomus tumors
• Petrous apex lesions
• Pituitary cysts
• Pituitary tumors
• Prolactinoma
• Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Solitary fibrous tumor
• TSH-producing pituitary adenoma

Skull Base Surgery Team

Our skull base team is composed of specialists in:

• Neurosurgery
• Head and neck surgery 
• Sinus and skull base surgery 
• Ear disorders (otology/neurotology)
• Neuroradiology
• Pituitary disorders (endocrinology) 
• Radiation oncology 

They meet regularly to discuss your treatment plan to ensure you’re getting the best possible care. We also have a dedicated nurse practitioner who will work with you to manage multiple appointments and tests.