An Overview of Definition and Approaches to Petroclival Meningioma

Meningiomas account for 20 to 25% of all intracranial tumors and 10% are seen in the posterior fossa. Petroclival tumors are defined as arising from the upper two thirds of the clivus, medial to the trigeminal nerve at the petroclival junction. Brain CT scan and MRI are routinely used to evaluate tumor anatomy. The petrous temporal bone is a hindrance to resection of these tumors. Oftentimes neurosurgeons are unskilled with the anatomy of the petrous bone, and so suboccipital and pterional routes are usually preferred. Some authors have encouraged using traditional neurosurgical approaches to these tumors. In this manuscript we review tumor location and approaches used for resection of these challenging tumors.