Smell Sparing Unilateral Intracranial Dermoid Resection

Intracranial dermoid cysts are congenital ectodermal inclusion cysts that have a propensity to occur in the midline sellar, parasellar, or frontonasal regions. These cysts enlarge by means of glandular secretion and epithelial desquamation. Surgical resection has traditionally included a craniotomy, but endoscopic approaches are now used with increasing regularity. A binostril approach is normally used to access dermoid cysts due to the midline nature of the lesions. In this case report, we describe the successful surgical resection of a dermoid with 1.5-cm of intracranial extension using a unilateral endonasal endoscopic approach with no complications and with no postoperative anosmia. Although the unilateral endoscopic technique is not plausible for all epidermoid or dermoid cysts of the anterior cranial fossa, it should be considered a viable alternative technique when faced with a dermoid limited to one side of the falx cerebri.