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Surgery
Source: Childhood Craniopharyngioma (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: April 3, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Types of treatment for childhood craniopharyngioma
The type of surgery your child will have depends on the size of the tumor, where it is in the brain, and whether it has grown into nearby tissue in a finger-like way. It also depends on expected late effects that may occur after surgery.
The types of surgery that may be used to remove the tumor that can be seen with the eye include:
Transsphenoidal surgery is a type of surgery in which a surgeon inserts instruments into the brain by going through a cut made under the upper lip or at the bottom of the nose between the nostrils. Then they go through the sphenoid bone (a butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the skull) to reach the tumor near the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.
A craniotomy is surgery to remove the tumor through an opening made in the skull.
To help make a diagnosis, sometimes the surgeon will remove only part of the tumor. If a tumor is near the pituitary gland or hypothalamus, it will not be removed. Leaving the tumor helps reduce serious side effects from the surgery.
Sometimes, the surgeon will remove all of the tumor that they can see and no further treatment is needed. At other times, they may not be able to remove the tumor because it is growing into or pressing on nearby organs.
Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice