Objective: To compare the use of porcine small intestine submucosal grafts (PSISG, Biodesign)
and standard autologous material (fascia) for the prevention of cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) leak after surgical resection of cerebellopontine (CPA) angle tumors.
Setting: Tertiary skull base center.
Methods: Retrospective chart review. After IRB approval, we performed a retrospective cohort
study evaluating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in patients who underwent translabyrinthine
(TL) surgical resection for CPA tumors using either fascia autograft or porcine small
intestinal submucosal grafts (PSISG, Biodesign). Demographics were summarized with
descriptive statistics. The Kruskal–Wallis test compared the cohorts. Single-predictor
binary logistic regressions evaluated the association of covariates with outcomes.
Results: Seventy-seven patients (mean age: 49 years; range: 17–73; female = 51 [66%]) underwent
TL surgical resection of CPA tumors. Composite repair consisting of dural substitute,
adipose tissue, and either fascia autograft (56 patients; 73%) or PSISG (Biodesign)
(21 patients; 27%) from 2016 to 2018 were evaluated. Patients were followed up for
a minimum of 6 months after surgery. The mean tumor size was 2.3 cm (range: 0.4–6.1)
and there was no significant size difference between the cohorts (p = 0.2028). The most common pathologic diagnosis was vestibular schwannoma (n = 71, 92%), followed by epidermoid (n = 2, 2.6%), meningioma (n = 2, 2.6%), and facial nerve schwannoma (n = 2, 2.6%). All tumors were excised via TL approach. There were seven overall postoperative
leaks (9.1%) of which 3 (5.4%) required operative repair. One leak (4.8%) occurred
in the Biodesign cohort while six leaks (10.7%) occurred in the autograft cohort (OR:
0.417, 95% CI: 0.047–3.684, p = 0.4312). Size was not associated with postoperative leak (OR: 0.782, 95% CI: 0.310–1.975,
p = 0.634). One pseudomeningocele (4.8%) was identified in the Biodesign cohort, while
five pseudomeningoceles (8.9%) were identified in the autograft cohort (OR: 0.510,
95% CI: 0.056–4.642, p = 0.5501). No operative repairs occurred in the Biodesign cohort, while three operative
repairs (5.4%) occurred in the fascia autograft cohort.
Conclusion: Porcine small intestinal submucosal grafts (Biodesign) appear to provide an effective
barrier as a component of complex skull base reconstruction after surgical extirpation
of CPA tumors. Biodesign performs well in preventing CSF leaks and appears noninferior
to autologous tissue in skull base reconstruction.