Background/Aims: Meningiomas, although common in adults, are rare in infancy and childhood. We present a single institution experience of children with meningiomas and a comparison of our findings with other published data. Methods: We reviewed the files of 352 children harboring a brain tumor, over a 16-year period. Eight cases of meningioma were verified (2.2%). All patients had been operated on and then had regular follow-up examinations. Results: There were 6 males and 2 females. The most common symptom was seizures. All tumors were intracranial and all patients underwent a gross total resection of the lesion. Six meningiomas were typical, whereas 2 patients had an atypical meningioma. After a mean 7-year follow-up period, all patients were in excellent condition, without evidence of tumor recurrence. Conclusion: Meningiomas, although rare, constitute a challenging problem. Gross total resection should be the goal and when it can be accomplished, the prognosis is excellent.
Gangliogliomas are usually benign slow-growing neoplasms, seen mainly in the first 3 decades of life and are prevalently located supratentorial, mostly in the temporal and frontal lobe. The authors present a rare case of a brainstem ganglioglioma in an 11-year-old boy who was referred to their hospital complaining of episodes of blurry vision, loss of memory, gait disturbances, and morning headache with vomiting, lasting for over a month. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed a mass on the dorsal surface of the brainstem, compressing the brainstem and producing secondary obstructive hydrocephalus. The patient was operated upon, and the histopathology revealed the presence of a ganglioglioma grade II (World Health Organization classification). On follow-up examination after 1 year, a minor gait imbalance was the only finding. A total resection should be always attempted, where possible in brainstem gangliogliomas. Close follow-up is mandatory, and re-resection or radiotherapy should be considered in case of tumor recurrence.
Background: Cavernous hemangiomas are benign vascular hamartomas caused by developmental malformations of the vascular bed. They can be found in 0.3–0.7% of the population, whereas one fourth of these lesions occur in children. Methods: In the present study, we report on 16 cases of cavernomas surgically treated in our institute. From each patient’s file, the age, sex, lesion location, symptoms and follow-up were analyzed. Results: The most commonly presenting symptom was epilepsy. Radiological signs of acute hemorrhage were observed in 3 cases. Three children had multiple cavernomas. The parietal lobe was the most common site of occurrence, whereas only 2 cavernomas were infratentorial. There was no operative mortality. Postoperatively, there was no additional neurological deficit, and all patients gradually improved. In a case of pontine cavernoma, there was a need for reoperation due to rebleeding. Conclusion: With the improvement of microsurgical techniques and modern neuroimaging, nearly all cavernomas can be safely removed. Total resection is associated with patients’ clinical improvement and seizure control.
Neurocytomas are relatively rare central nervous system tumors first described in intraventricular sites but increasingly recognized in the brain and spinal cord parenchyma. Herewith, we report a case of a 3-year-old girl with generalized seizures. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion in the left frontal lobe. Angiography showed minimal vascularity. The tumor was totally excised. Histopathologic examination demonstrated an extraventricular neurocytoma. On follow-up magnetic resonance imaging after 1 year, no evidence of tumor recurrence was noted. Cerebral neurocytomas are histologically low-grade tumors and radical surgery is curative; they should be included in the differential diagnosis of cerebral tumors in children.
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