Skull-base surgery is a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure, which involves the surgeon inserting instruments through the natural openings in the skull—the nose or mouth—or by making a small hole just above the eyebrow. This type of surgery requires a team of specialists, which may include ENT (ear, nose, and throat), maxillofacial and neurosurgeons, as well as radiologists. The craniovertebral junction (CVJ) has a unique anatomical bone and neurovascular structure, which not only separates the subaxial cervical spine but also provides a special cranial flexion, extension and axial rotation pattern. As such, a sound knowledge of the basic principles of spine instrumentation and the region’s kinematics are essential when it comes to strategic preoperative planning. Skull-base, craniovertebral junction, spine demolitive and reconstructive surgery, neuromodulation, bioengineering and transplantation are recent tools used to improve reconstruction, restoration and rehabilitation – three key words central to the core aim of the Neurorehabilitation and Reconstruction Committee of the WFNS, which is to promte mechanical morphological and functional restoration.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.