Abstract
Surgical defect closure following endonasal transsphenoidal tumor resection is a critical
component of procedural success. Three-dimensional (3D) modeling of relevant skull
base anatomy during resection can potentially facilitate design of a custom rigid
buttress for gasket-seal closure; however, access to conventional cross-sectional
imaging intraoperatively is limited and cumbersome. Endoscopic imaging, by contrast,
is always available. This work demonstrates the feasibility of 3D modeling of the
visible skull base through structure-from-motion photogrammetric postprocessing techniques,
providing a suitable template to design a gasket-seal buttress. Additionally, endoscopic
3D reconstruction of skull base surface anatomy may represent a more robust depiction
of the surgical defect than is available by conventional 3D modeling with computed
tomography, which suboptimally recapitulates very thin bones and mucosal surfaces
typical of this regional anatomy.
Keywords
photogrammetry - gasket-seal - buttress - sellar reconstruction - transsphenoidal