Surgical Anatomy of the Retrosigmoid Approach with Transtentorial Extension: Protecting the 4th Cranial Nerve.

This article, titled "Surgical Anatomy of the Retrosigmoid Approach with Transtentorial Extension: Protecting the 4th Cranial Nerve," explores the challenges and techniques involved in safely incising the tentorium cerebelli during the Retrosigmoid Approach with Transtentorial Extension (RTA). The study was conducted on cadaver head specimens, and the researchers identified a working area for the incision, outlined by the tentorium's free edge and the trigeminal nerve. They described six different incisions for the tentorial opening, which allows access to the middle incisural space, the ventrolateral brainstem, and the base of the temporal lobe. The study provides a systematic description and illustration of the tentorial incision in the RSA, with a focus on protecting the 4th cranial nerve. [Extracted from the article]