Object: Olfactory groove meningiomas (OGMs) arise over the cribriform plate and may reach very large sizes prior to presentation. They can be differentiated from tuberculum sellae meningiomas because OGMs arise more anterior in the skull base and displace the optic nerve and chiasm inferiorly rather than superiorly.
Methods: The authors searched the neurosurgery database at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for cases of OGM treated between 1993 and 2003. The records of these patients were then reviewed retrospectively for details regarding clinical presentation, imaging findings, surgical results and complications, and follow-up status. Thirteen patients, (12 women and one man, mean age 56 years) harbored OGMs (mean size 5.7 cm). All patients underwent bifrontal craniotomies and biorbital osteotomies. There were 11 complete resections (including the hyperostotic bone and dura of the cribriform plate and any extension into the ethmoid sinuses) and two subtotal resections with minimal residual tumor left in patients with recurrent lesions. No complication directly due to the surgery occurred in any patient. There were no recurrences in a mean follow-up period of 2 years (range 0-5 years).
Conclusions: With current microsurgical techniques, the results of OGM resection are excellent, with a high rate of total resection and a low incidence of complications. All hyperostotic bone should be removed with the dura of the anterior skull base to minimize the risk of recurrence.