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Stanford Health Care

Conditions Treated

Our Approach to Keyhole Surgery

This technique offers important potential advantages over traditional open surgery, which can require larger incisions that may contribute to a longer hospital stay and recovery.

Minimally invasive keyhole surgery offers surgeons direct access to tumors through a tiny opening in the skull.

Our goals are to minimize the risk of complications, produce the best possible results, and reduce recovery times.

Our doctors are among the most experienced in the world using minimally invasive keyhole surgery. We have helped lead the development of this innovative technique for the treatment of tumors near the base of the skull and in the brain.

In addition, our team conducts research into new advances to ensure that we can offer patients the most advanced minimally invasive keyhole surgery options, some not yet available anywhere else.

What We Offer You for Keyhole Surgery

  • Extensive training and years of experience as an international leader in this innovative, minimally invasive surgical technique.
  • Use of the minimally invasive keyhole approach to treat conditions involving brain, pituitary, and skull base tumors.
  • Potentially fewer complications and shorter recovery times resulting from direct access to tumors through a tiny opening in the skull or through the nose.
  • Complete, compassionate treatment from dedicated professionals in our state-of-the-art clinic.
  • Research programs exploring new advances and applications of minimally invasive keyhole surgery techniques.
  • Assistance from our International Medical Services team to plan your travel and accommodations.

What Is Keyhole Surgery?

Minimally invasive keyhole surgery is a surgical technique that lets doctors access tumors and lesions (tissue damage) near the brain or spine by using an endoscope (a thin tube with a light and camera) inserted through one or more small incisions.

When compared with traditional open surgery, minimally invasive keyhole surgery is designed to reduce the risk of complications, shorten recovery times, and improve outcomes.

Conditions

Minimally invasive keyhole surgery may be an option to treat a wide range of conditions involving tumors in critical areas at the base of the skull or top of the spine, including:

  • Acoustic Neuroma, non-cancerous benign tumors found at the skull base
  • Aneurysm,  an abnormal widening or ballooning of the artery, increasing the risk for a rupture
  • Chiari malformation, where lack of space in the skull puts pressure on part of the brain
  • Craniopharyngioma, a noncancerous tumor, most common in children, that grows near the pituitary gland
  • Meningioma of the skull base, the growth of a tumor in the protective linings of the brain and spinal cord
  • Neurofibroma, noncancerous tumors most commonly affect the vestibulocochlear nerve, which helps the inner ear process sound and aids in balance
  • Olfactory neuroblastoma, a type of cancer in the upper nasal cavity
  • Optic nerve compression, pressure on the optic nerve caused by a tumor or other growth around the brain
  • Orbital inflammatory pseudotumor, a chronic condition marked by inflammation of the tissues that surround the eyes
  • Osteoma, a noncancerous bone growth in the brain
  • Osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer

Our Clinics

Brain and Spine Tumor Center at Stanford Neuroscience Health Center
In Palo Alto, our multispecialty teams treat cancerous and noncancerous spine and brain tumors with surgery, radiation therapy, and medication.
213 Quarry Road
 Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone: 650-497-7777 Getting Here

RELATED CLINICS

875 Blake Wilbur Drive
 Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone: 650-498-6000
Make An Appointment

To schedule an appointment, please call: 650-497-7777