Reconstruction of the anterior skull base after craniofacial resection.

Significant controversy continues as to how best to reconstruct anterior skull base defects after craniofacial resection with a view to minimizing the postoperative morbidity. Techniques varying from simple skin grafts to local and pedicled flaps, as well as bone harvested from a variety of sources have all been proposed. Careful review of the literature combined with personal experience with 34 anterior skull base defects following tumor surgery are presented in an attempt to develop a decision-making process to determine the ideal reconstructive technique for various situations.