Endoscopic Endonasal Approach​ Surgery Breakthroughs at UPMC

UPMC Neurosurgeons Are World Leaders in the Endoscopic Endonsal Approach (EEA)

The surgical team at UPMC was the first in the world to use the nasal passages to reach a variety of deep-seated brain tumors and lesions that previously required disfiguring, and potentially debilitating, open surgery.

Using endoscopes to visualize the lesions — and custom-designed instruments to reach them — UPMC surgeons also developed new applications and breakthroughs for EEA, which expanded on this minimally invasive technique originally designed to reach pituitary tumors.

The UPMC team has performed more than 3,500 of these procedures, and was the first in the world to perform and publish the following minimally invasive surgical procedures.