• Neslihan Çavuşoğlu, Gökberk Erol, Umut Tan Sevgi, Feride Bulgur, Yücel Doğruel, Sabino Luzzi, GadolAaron A CohenAACDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA., and Abuzer Güngor.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Bakırköy Mazhar Osman Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 Sep 1; 189: e1006e1012e1006-e1012.

IntroductionAchieving watertight dural closure without grafts via the retrosigmoid approach can be challenging, contributing to a significant rate of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. This study describes a dural incision technique for achieving primary dural closure without grafts following the retrosigmoid approach and presents clinical data from the authors' experience.MethodsClinical and surgical data of 227 patients who underwent the dural incision technique following the retrosigmoid approach for various pathologies were retrospectively reviewed. To achieve no-graft watertight dural closure, the dural incision involves 2 critical steps: a 1 cm transverse incision of the dura parallel to the foramen magnum to drain CSF from the cisterna magna, and a vertical linear opening of the retrosigmoid dura. Dural incisions were closed watertight with vicryl 4/0 running sutures, without the use of grafts, fibrin glue, hemostatic overlays, or dural substitutes. Pre- or postoperative lumbar drainage was not employed.ResultsPrimary watertight dural closure was successfully achieved in all patients without the use of grafts or duraplasty. The average duration of dura closure was 17.7 minutes. During an average follow-up period of 49.3 months, there were no instances of CSF leaks or meningitis.ConclusionsIn the authors' preliminary experience, the linear dural incision described herein was effective for achieving a no-graft, watertight primary dural closure in the retrosigmoid approach, with no CSF leaks or meningitis in our series. Validation of these preliminary data in a larger patient cohort is necessary.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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