Endonasal endoscopic or endoscopic-assisted transcranial surgery of Rathke's cleft cysts: does the approach and surgical technique influence the radicality and recurrence rate?

Objective: Resections of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cysts (RCCs) are mainly performed via an endonasal transsphenoidal approach. However, there is a lack of equivalent data in current literature concerning transcranial keyhole approach in the treatment of RCCs. In order to find general recommendations for the surgical treatment of RCCs also with regard to recurrence, the object of this study is the analysis and comparison of both techniques.