Endoscopic surgery is currently the preferred surgical treatment for cerebrospinal fl uid (CSF) leak of the anterior cranial base. However, in resource-limited regions of the world, where facilities and personnel for endoscopic skull base surgery are lacking, intracranial repair is still an option. Despite that fact, apparently because of the inherently challenging nature of intracranial surgical repair of frontobasal CSF leaks, and also because of the absence of several perioperative surgical adjuncts that facilitate this surgery, only a few anecdotal reports on this subject are known to us from our region of the world: sub-Saharan Africa.For approximately 2 years, we have used a simple surgical procedure in our new skull base unit for the repair of frontobasal CSF fi stula. This technique is based on the use of a meticulously dissected wide-based composite subgalealpericranial fl ap via a bifrontal craniotomy for the repair. We present here a technical report of this method and the outcome of its use in a consecutive prospective case series of frontobasal CSF fi stulae.This article describes a series of patients with CSF rhinorrhea who underwent surgical repair using a simple pragmatic technique that we have had to evolve in our unit. First we present an annotated report of our surgical technique. Then we present the results of the analysis of the demographics, preoperative and postoperative clinical-radiologic characteristics of the cases, and the outcome. The latter included the length of surgery, the success rate of the procedure to control the CSF leak and the duration thereof, the postoperative length of hospital stay, associated adverse effects including operative mortality, and the length of follow-up.
Clinical Case IllustrationFive hours after being involved in a rider motorcycle crash, a 35-year-old man presented with altered sensorium and bilateral nasal and left-ear bloody discharge. He was highly delirious on clinical examination and needed to be heavily restrained in bed. His Glasgow Coma Scale score was 13/15; his right pupil was 4 mm and reacted briskly to light, whereas the left pupil Category: General Neurosurgery, Trauma