Lateral Skull Base

The lateral skull base involves lesions in the infratemporal fossa as described by Ugo Fisch. These consist of Type A, including glomus jugulare tumors, Type B, including lower clival tumors and petrous apex lesions such as cholesterol cysts. Type C and D lesions are further anterior extensions including juvenile angiofibromas and nasopharyngeal carcinomas.

Lateral skull base surgery also includes transtemporal lesions (middle cranial fossa) including sphenoid wing meningiomas, trigeminal schwannoma and vascular lesions such as internal carotid artery aneurysms.

see Lateral skull base approach.

Surgery of the extreme lateral skull base involves the cerebellopontine angle including acoustic neuromas, microvascular decompression of cranial nerves, posterior fossa meningioma, and surgery of the craniocervical junction.