Neurosurgery
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Review Case Reports
Avoiding injury to the abducens nerve during expanded endonasal endoscopic surgery: anatomic and clinical case studies.
Understanding the course of the most medially located parasellar cranial nerve, the abducens, becomes critical when performing an expanded endonasal approach. ⋯ Anatomic landmarks to localize the abducens nerve intraoperatively, such as the VBJ for the transclival approach, the lacerum segment of the carotid, and the sellar floor for the medial petrous apex approach, and V2 for Meckel's cave approach, are reliable and complementary to the use of intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring.