Critical pathways in anterior cranial base surgery.

New advances in anterior cranial base surgery have dictated the need for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of lesions of this area, necessitating multiple modes of diagnostic and surgical techniques. Traditional consideration of the complex problems presented by neoplastic involvement of the anterior cranial base predicated on isolated syndrome analysis is no longer sufficient to adequately assess tumor pathology. To address these complex problems, we discuss a method of localization of pathology based on anatomic structure and function as well as the corresponding surgical approach to the anterior cranial base.