OLFACTORY GROOVE MENINGIOMAS: SURGICAL TREATMENT AND CLINICAL OUTCOME. A SINGLE CENTRE EXPERIENCE.

OBJECTIVES Olfactory groove meningiomas (OGMs) account for about 10% of intracranial meningiomas. These tumours arise from the anterior skull base, in the midline, between crista galli and planum sphenoidale. Their insidious presentation along with their nonspecific and usually subtle symptomatology, lead to the late detection of these tumours, even in the current era of the advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were collected from a series of 55 patients who underwent surgical treatment for OGM in the 3rd Neurosurgical Department of "Bagdasar-Arseni" Emergency Hospital, between 2009 and 2019. The aim of the study was to review patients who underwent surgery for OGM in order to evaluate surgical management efficiency, clinical and imagistic factors predicting the postoperative outcome. RESULTS Our study included 55 patients with a mean (±SD) age of 56 (±10.7) years, 33 (60%) being females. The most common symptom was headache in 44 (81%) patients, followed by anosmia in 21 (38%) cases, visual disturbances in 20 (36.3%) cases, cognitive disorder in 19 (34.5%) cases, vertigo in 9 (16.3%) cases, intracranial hypertension in 4 (7.2%) cases, motor deficits in 4 (7.2%) cases, loss of consciousness in 4 (7.2%) cases, epileptic seizures in 2 (3.6%) cases, and incontinence in 1 (1.8%) case. The mean (±SD) tumour size was 5.1 (±1.5) cm. The surgical approaches used were unilateral frontal in 29 (52.7%) cases and frontotemporal in 26(47.2%) cases. Gross total resection was achieved in 50(90.9%), and subtotal resection in 5(9.1%) cases. The postoperative complications were: wound healing impairment in 2 (3.6%) cases, cerebrospinal fluid leak in 2 (3.6%) cases, pseudomeningocele in 1 (1.8%) case, seizures in 2 (3.6%) cases, stroke in 1 (1.8%) case and motor deficits in 1(1.8%) case. Tumour recurrence occurred in 3 (5.4%) patients and mortality rate was 7.2%. CONCLUSIONS OGMs are slightly more frequent in females and in older patients, groups associated with a higher prevalence of associated diseases. These tumours tend to grow slowly and are clinically silent for a long period of time, acquiring large diameters until the time of diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]