How I do it - endoscopic endonasal approach for pituitary tumour

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic endonasal surgery to access the anterior skull base has evolved in many centres worldwide and provides a minimally invasive alternative, with better patient experience, to open techniques. METHOD: We present a basic approach to a midline lesion that is the fundamental starting point for wider access to the skull base. CONCLUSION: The nuances of this technique illustrated here have been developed in many centres to provide a safe procedure that has a low incidence of complications and excellent potential. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00701-016-2916-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.