Surgery as a safe and effective treatment option for spheno-orbital meningioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis of surgical techniques and outcomes

Purpose The effectiveness and safety of surgery for spheno‐orbital meningiomas remains subject of debate, as studies often describe different surgical approaches and reconstruction techniques with very heterogeneous outcomes. We aimed to systematically summarize and analyse the literature on spheno‐orbital meningiomas regarding presenting symptoms, surgical techniques, outcomes and complications. Methods Studies were retrieved from eight databases. Original articles were included if in ≥5 patients presenting symptoms, surgical treatment and outcomes were described. Fixed‐ and random‐effects meta‐analysis was performed to estimate weighted percentages with 95%CIs of presenting symptoms, outcomes and complications. Results Thirty‐eight articles were included describing 1486 patients. Proptosis was the most common presenting symptom (84%; 95%CI 76–91%), followed by unilateral visual acuity deficits (46%; 95%CI 40–51%) and visual field deficits (31%; 95%CI 20–43%). In 35/38 studies (92%), a pterional craniotomy was used. Decompression of the optic canal (82%) and the superior orbital fissure (66%) was most often performed, and usually dural (47%) and bony defects (76%) were reconstructed. In almost all patients, visual acuity (91%; 95%CI 86–96%), visual fields (87%; 95%CI 70–99%) and proptosis (96%; 95%CI 90–100%) improved. Furthermore, surgery showed improvement in 96% (95%CI 78–100%) for both diplopia and ophthalmoplegia. The most common surgical complications were hypesthesia (19%; 95%CI 10–30%), ptosis and diplopia (both 17%; 95%CI, respectively, 10–26% and 5–33%) and ophthalmoplegia (16%; 95%CI 10–24). Conclusion Patients with spheno‐orbital meningioma usually present with proptosis or unilateral decreased visual acuity. Surgery shows to be effective in improving visual acuity and visual field deficits with mostly minor and well‐tolerated complications.