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Insular gliomas present significant challenges because of their deep-seated location and proximity to critical structures, including Sylvian veins, middle cerebral arteries, lenticulostriate arteries,1 long insular arteries,2 and functional cortices.3-6 The Berger-Sanai classification categorizes them into 4 zones (I-IV), providing a framework for understanding insular gliomas.7 The key factors for successful insular glioma removal are achieving the greatest insular exposure and surgical freedom.3 Given that the trans-Sylvian approach8,9 creates a narrow, linear surgical window,3 regardless of the zones, various surgical options have been employed, such as the trans-Sylvian approach with bridging vein cuts and the transcortical approach through functionally silent cortex.3,7,9-13 Dissecting sulci in glioma surgeries has proven beneficial.14-16 In this video publication, we dissected the anterior ascending ramus (AAR) and the Sylvian fissure, creating a triangular window instead of a linear one. A 74-year-old right-handed woman with a zone I insular glioma underwent a trans-Sylvian and trans-AAR approach, achieving total resection of the tumor without new neurological deficits. This approach provided maximum exposure of the insular region, offering a wide view from the anterior limiting sulcus to the anterior half of the superior limiting sulcus of the insula. The histological diagnosis revealed a rare adult pilocytic astrocytoma at the insula, documented in only one case report.17 The AAR,4 defined as a lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure) branch,18 is present in 98.89% of hemispheres19; therefore, this surgical approach demonstrates broad applicability to zone I insular tumors. The patient provided consent for the procedure and the publication of her image under institutional review board approval (G23-08).
Toyoda et al. (Tue,) studied this question.