Ho-ho-ho! Gather ’round, my merry friends, for I have a tale that’s quite the brain-teaser, quite literally! In the land of neurosurgery, where precision is king and the stakes are as high as the North Pole on Christmas Eve, a group of intrepid surgeons embarked on a jolly quest. Their mission: to explore the wondrous realm of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA), a cozy nook in the brain where tumors like to settle down for a long winter’s nap.

Now, these weren’t your ordinary surgeons, oh no! They were neuroendoscopic elves, armed with tiny cameras and instruments, ready to navigate the narrow corridors of the human noggin. From June 2014 to June 2023, they gathered data on 47 CPA tumors, all snugly removed through a retrosigmoid approach, much like how I shimmy down a chimney.

Among these tumors were 34 epidermoid cysts, 7 vestibular schwannomas, and 6 meningiomas, each one as unique as a snowflake. The surgeons, in their festive scrubs, employed two jolly techniques: the one-surgeon two-hands technique for 20 tumors, and the two-surgeons four-hands technique for 27 tumors, making sure they worked in harmony like reindeer pulling my sleigh.

And what to their wondering eyes did appear? A 100% success rate in preserving the cranial nerves, no postoperative hemorrhage, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, or meningitis, and not a single patient lost to the icy grip of the Grim Reaper. The total tumor resection rate was a merry 72.3%, and 89.4% of patients felt better than children on Christmas morning.

After 2 to 12 months of follow-up, not a creature was stirring, not even a tumor. The surgeons concluded that this neuroendoscopic approach was as safe and effective as my toy workshop, and deserved to be shared far and wide, like presents under the tree.

So, let’s raise a glass of eggnog to these surgical Santas, for they’ve delivered a gift of hope to those with CPA tumors, proving that with the right technique, you can deck the halls of the cerebellopontine angle with boughs of holly and good health. Cheers! 🎅🧠🔔