VCU’s Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery is proud to collaborate across a multitude of specialties and subspecialties to provide cutting-edge medical and surgical therapies for complex pathology of the skull base. We provide patient care and robust resident training in skull base surgery alongside neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and radiation oncologists.

Conditions we treat include the following:

• Pituitary tumors
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks
• Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannomas)
• Sinonasal tumors
• Meningiomas
• Encephaloceles
• Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome
• Craniopharyngiomas
• Clival chordoma and chondrosarcomas
• Glomus jugulare and glomus tympanicum
• Rare tumors of the anterior and lateral skull base
• Pathology of the craniovertebral junction
• Pulsatile tinnitus

A Multidisciplinary Approach

Skull base surgery is a dynamic and exciting frontier in the field of Otolaryngology. Thanks to a wave of groundbreaking technology and an advanced understanding of the anatomy of the skull base, our highly specialized faculty conduct a broad range of cutting-edge surgical procedures. In many cases, tumors that once required highly invasive open procedures can now be effectively managed using minimally invasive, endoscopic surgeries performed through the nose, mouth or ear. These novel approaches typically allow patients to go home faster and scar-free.

• Rhinology Skull Base Surgery
• Otology and Neurotology Skull Base Surgery

Research

Otolaryngology faculty specializing in skull base surgery are actively collaborating with our colleagues in the Department of Neurosurgery to study longitudinal outcomes in skull base and pituitary surgery.