Post-operative meningeal thickening seen on magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Posterior fossa tumors are relatively common in children, and the meningeal dissemination of these tumors is well established in the literature. Although leptomeningeal dissemination is more common in high-grade tumors, even low-grade tumors can generate meningeal metastases. In this case report, we would like to discuss the importance of leptomeningeal dissemination assessment of posterior fossa tumors in children, in the preoperative period, through the entire neuroaxis magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This is important since transient meningeal thickening is very common in the postoperative periods of neurosurgical patients, and can be found for up to 5 or 6 years after surgery, causing these patients to undergo prolonged follow-ups and repeated MRIs and lumbar punctures.