Gravity-aided trans-falcine removal of a contralateral subcortical ependymoma.

Abstract

The transfalcine approach is a variant of the interhemispheric approach which provides exposure of the medial surface of the contralateral hemisphere through a falx incision. Gravity can be used as a natural retractor. We report a 32-year-old woman with an ependymoma of the medial surface of the left Rolandic area that was completely removed through a contralateral gravity-aided, image-guided transfalcine approach. The contralateral transfalcine approach can be a good option for lesions presenting at the interhemispheric fissure especially those associated with perilesional oedema and avoids the risks of a transparenchymal dissection and retraction of a swollen hemisphere.