The role of computer-assisted navigation systems for endoscopic endonasal approaches to the skull base in children

The objective of our study was to evaluate the contribution of computer navigation in performing endoscopic endonasal approaches to various pathologies of the skull base in pediatrics. The study included 54 children with various skull base pathology (girls - 27, boys - 27; mean age 10±3,6 years), treated in 3 different institutions from 2005 to 2011, divided into two groups depending on the use of computer navigation. The study found that the use of navigational support for endoscopic endonasal approaches to the skull base, allows more precise control of operating equipment in the narrow anatomical spaces and be more affected by a pathology that, despite the extra time needed for data expressed in the significant decrease in operative time and blood loss. However, computer-assisted navigation systems are not meant to replace anatomical knowledge, and at the moment their use in endoscopic endonasal approaches to the skull base in children is not accompanied by a significant reduction in the risk of complications, recurrence and the development of residual disease.