Epilepsy Surgery Outcome of Traumatic Intradiploic Meningoencephalocele: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

We highlight an under-recognized epileptic pathology in a 56-year-old left-handed female with progressive right facial numbness and weekly focal seizures characterized by episodic aphasia. She was found to have a left frontoparietal intradiploic meningoencephalocele (IDME). Her only epilepsy risk factor was minor head trauma 10 years prior to presentation. She underwent craniotomy for encephalocele resection and mesh cranioplasty without residual neurological deficits and excellent seizure outcome: at 3-year follow-up, she was still seizure-free since surgery, except for an isolated breakthrough seizure at 7 postoperative months when she discontinued her preoperative regimen of Lacosamide monotherapy. Traumatic IDME is a rare condition and rarely presents with seizures. Symptoms may arise up to decades following minor head trauma and are progressive in nature. The likely definitive treatment is cranioplasty and dural repair with or without resecting the protruding parenchyma.

Keywords: aphasia; encephalocele; intradiploic; meningoencephalocele; seizures.