Preface

Modern skull base surgery has developed into a multidisciplinary specialty with a specific collaboration between several diagnostic and therapeutic medical disciplines. It has undergone substantial evolution over the past 30 years. Although resection of skull base tumors was sporadically attempted in the early part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960s that interest in the management of skull base tumors was piqued by the introduction and subsequent rapid expansion of indications of transnasal endoscopic techniques.

In parallel, extraordinary progress has been made in all the other disciplines (pathology, radiology, neurosurgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology) involved in the complex process of managing anterior skull base tumors, leading to substantial improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Due to complex anatomy and important functional structures, there are specific conditions for surgical procedures at the skull base. They require a maximum of precision, persistency, and well-grounded anatomical knowledge.

This book includes chapters written by experts worldwide. In view of the extreme variability of lesions involving the skull base, much emphasis has been placed on addressing the different nuances of treatment in relation to histology. The chapters focusing on surgery reflect the experience of the senior author and consequently provide divergent views on selection criteria for a specific surgical technique. The book contains a great deal of information on the topic of skull base tumors that is normally only available in journal articles.

> **Hamid Borghei-Razavi and Mauricio Mandel** Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, Florida, USA

> > **Eric Suero Molina** University Hospital Muenster, Münster, Germany

Section 1
