Someone with an alternately stuffy and drippy nose, ears that feel full, headache, even nosebleeds, is most likely suffering from allergies or chronic sinusitis.

But tumors deep in the nose or at the base of the skull can cause those same symptoms. “The symptoms can overlap with a lot of other innocuous conditions. That‘s why a lot of these tumors are found relatively late,” says Mitchell Gore, MD, PhD, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Upstate with fellowship training in skull base surgery.

Such tumors can be benign or cancerous. Depending on their size and location, many can be removed using an endoscope inserted through the nose. Gore says surgical equipment, cameras and video technology have advanced in the past couple of decades. Endoscopic skull base techniques now provide surgeons with a better view – and patients with a faster recovery.

This article appears in the fall 2017 issue of Upstate Health magazine. Click here to hear Gore talk about other aspects of skull base surgery in a podcast interview from  "HealthLink on Air."