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Review
. 2021 Mar 24;19(1):15593258211002061.
doi: 10.1177/15593258211002061. eCollection 2021 Jan-Mar.

Giant Epidermoid Cyst of Posterior Fossa-Our Experience and Literature Review

Giacomo Spinato  1   2 , Piergiorgio Gaudioso  1 , Maurizio Falcioni  3 , Maria Cristina Da Mosto  1 , Salvatore Cocuzza  4 , Antonino Maniaci  4 , Cristoforo Fabbris  1 , Doriano Politi  5 , Tiziana Volo  5 , Emanuele Ferri  6 , Giovanni Cristalli  6 , Lorenzo Mannelli  7 , Marco Salvatore  7 , Paolo Boscolo Rizzo  1 , Daniele Frezza  8
Affiliations
Review

Giant Epidermoid Cyst of Posterior Fossa-Our Experience and Literature Review

Giacomo Spinato et al. Dose Response. .

Abstract

Introduction: Intracranial epidermoid cysts are the most frequent congenital intracranial lesion. They rare and benign tumors that can present in different clinical situations depending on location and extension of the disease. Diagnosis is obtained with radiological imaging with RM and non-enhanced TC as elective investigating methods. Elective treatment is surgery, based on total/subtotal excision sparring healthy neurovascular structures, considering the benign nature of this lesion.

Case report: In this study we present the case of a 79-year-old woman affected by recidivist epidermal cyst of the posterior fossa. Clinical presentation was characterized by positional subjective vertigo, intense headache localized in the right part of the head increased by Valsalva maneuver and retroarticular subcutaneous swelling. Radiological investigation found a giant epidemoid cyst of the posterior fossa (8,4 x 4,8 x 5,8 cm), treated with surgery. In the postoperative, the patient was fine and no neurological deficit has been encounterd.

Review: In this study, we present a review of the literature regarding giant epidermoid cysts of posterior fossa. Only 11 cases were reported before ours, which actually is one of the largest ever described.

Keywords: cranial fossa; giant epidermoid cyst; posterior fossa; radiological findings.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Preoperative coronal, sagittal and axial TC scan.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Preoperative axial MRI, T1 and T2-weighted images.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Preoperative axial, sagittal and coronal MRI, FLAIR sequences.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Intraoperative surgical passages: craniotomy and mass display after craniotomy.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Postoperative coronal, axial and sagittal TC scans.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
A, Post-operative outcome. B, Post-operative check-up: negative cranial nerves examination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Solanki SP, Maccormac O, Dow GR, Smith S. Malignant transformation of residual posterior fossa epidermoid cyst to squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Neurosurg. 2017;31(4):497–498. - PubMed
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    1. Patibandla M, Yerramneni V, Mudumba V, Manisha N, Addagada G. Brainstem epidermoid cyst: an update. Asian J Neurosurg. 2016;11(3):194–200. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jhawar SS, Mahore A, Goel AH. Giant multicompartmental epidermoid cyst of cavernous sinus: a case report. J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2013;74(suppl.1):e9–e12. - PubMed

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