Do classical approaches still have a role in the surgery of skull base meningiomas?

The authors present a series of 74 consecutive patients operated on at Neurosurgical Division of Policlinico of Modena for skull base meninyiomas between 1982 and 1997. The patients consisted of 50 females and 24 males, aged 28 to 76 years. All the tumours had an exclusively intracranial development and have been removed through classical or conservative approaches. The overall surgical mortality rate was 6.7% (5 pts) and recurrences occurred in 4 pts. The AA. stress the usefulnes of classical approaches, sometimes properly taylored for individual patient.