scholarly journals Posterior Cranial Fossa Meningioma Causing Tonsillar Herniation and Giant Cervicothoracic Syringomyelia, Case Report and Review of Literature

Author(s):  
Estelle Anne How Hong ◽  
Shalid Ahmed ◽  
Srihari Deepak ◽  
Gueorgui Kounin

Abstract Background Syringomyelia is a fluid-filled cyst within the spinal cord and usually associated with Arnold-Chiari malformation. Posterior cranial fossa tumours are a rare cause of tonsillar herniation and secondary syringomyelia. Case Presentation: We report a rare case of a 56-year-old female with posterior cranial meningioma and secondary syringomyelia, admitted with headache, nausea, vomiting, and ataxic gait. MRI demonstrated a large posterior fossa lesion causing early ventriculomegaly and syrinx within the upper spinal cord extending from the hindbrain inferiorly to the level of T8. She underwent a posterior fossa craniectomy with left C1 hemilaminectomy and complete excision of the tumour. In 6 months following her procedure, MRI scan showed a significant reduction in the calibre of the syringomyelia throughout its length and there was a significant improvement in symptoms. Literature review: A PubMed literature search was carried out with keywords: “syringomyelia”, “posterior fossa” and “tumour”. 120 articles were reviewed. The inclusion criteria for this study was posterior fossa meningioma causing syrinx formation. A total of 9 isolated similar cases were identified. Discussion Tonsillar herniation and syringomyelia secondary to posterior cranial fossa meningioma are rare. The alteration in the dynamic flow of CSF is likely to be the cause for the formation and enlargement of the syrinx. Conclusion Although the pathophysiology of syrinx formation is still poorly understood, the alteration of CSF dynamic has been implicated, but a common unifying cause appears to be increased transcranial difference in intracranial pressure across the foramen magnum causing tonsillar herniation, irrespective of location in the posterior fossa. Posterior fossa craniotomy and excision of the lesion is the mainstay treatment.

OBJECTIVE Posterior vault distraction osteogenesis (PVDO) is an effective tool to increase intracranial volume and expand the posterior cranial fossa. During PVDO, the authors extended osteotomy posterior to the foramen magnum to fully expand the posterior cranial fossa. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of complete PVDO in posterior fossa expansion and treatment of Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) in patients with craniosynostosis. METHODS Patients with craniosynostosis who had undergone complete PVDO between January 2012 and May 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. A coronal osteotomy extending to the foramen magnum was performed and the foramen magnum was decompressed by removing its posterior rim with a 1-mm Kerrison rongeur. Four distractor devices were placed and the vector of distraction was controlled from the posterior to the inferior-posterior direction, depending on the deformity. Changes in the intracranial volume, posterior cranial fossa area, and cerebellar tonsillar descent were measured after complete PVDO by using CT and MRI. RESULTS A total of 11 patients with craniosynostosis and concurrent CM-I were included in the study. The mean age was 34.6 ± 24.0 months (continuous variables are expressed as the mean ± SD throughout). One patient had sleep apnea, which was consistent with CM-I, and another patient had a headache, which was nonspecific. The intracranial volume increased from 1179.6 ± 180.2 cm3 to 1440.6 ± 251.5 cm3 (p = 0.003; 24.5% increase compared to the preoperative volume). The posterior skull base area increased from 44.9 ± 19.3 cm2 to 72.7 ± 18.1 cm2 (p = 0.004). Cerebellar tonsillar descent decreased in all 11 patients after complete PVDO (preoperative: 10.8 ± 3.7 mm, postoperative: 2.7 ± 3.0 mm; p = 0.003). Among the 11 patients, 5 showed complete resolution of cerebellar tonsillar herniation. CONCLUSIONS Complete PVDO can more efficiently expand the posterior cranial fossa, unlike conventional methods. Moreover, it helps to relieve cerebellar tonsillar herniation. Complete PVDO is a powerful tool to increase the intracranial and posterior fossa volumes in patients with craniosynostosis and concurrent CM-I.


1971 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges M. Salamon ◽  
André Combalbert ◽  
Charles Raybaud ◽  
Jorge Gonzalez

✓ The meningeal vasculature of the posterior cranial fossa was studied on injected normal anatomical specimens and in angiograms of patients with posterior fossa meningiomas. The correlated results indicate that the dura anterior to the foramen magnum is supplied by meningeal vessels from the carotid siphon, the ascending pharyngeal and middle meningeal arteries. The dura posterior to the foramen magnum is supplied primarily by the occipital artery and secondarily by the vertebral artery.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 722-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Coll ◽  
Jean-Jacques Lemaire ◽  
Federico Di Rocco ◽  
Isabelle Barthélémy ◽  
Jean-Marc Garcier ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: To date, no study has compared the evolution of the foramen magnum area (FMA) and the posterior cranial fossa volume (PCFV) with the degree of cranial base synchondrosis ossification. OBJECTIVE: To illustrate these features in healthy children. METHODS: The FMA, the PCFV, and the ossification of 12 synchondroses according to the Madeline and Elster scale were retrospectively analyzed in 235 healthy children using millimeter slices on a computed tomography scan. RESULTS: The mean FMA of 6.49 cm2 in girls was significantly inferior to the FMA of 7.67 cm2 in boys (P <.001). In both sexes, the growth evolved in a 2-phase process, with a phase of rapid growth from birth to 3.75 years old (yo) followed by a phase of stabilization. In girls, the first phase was shorter (ending at 2.6 yo) than in boys (ending at 4.33 yo) and proceeded at a higher rate. PCFV was smaller in girls (P <.001) and displayed a biphasic pattern in the whole population, with a phase of rapid growth from birth to 3.58 yo followed by a phase of slow growth until 16 yo. In girls, the first phase was more active and shorter (ending at 2.67 yo) than in boys (ending at 4.5 yo). The posterior interoccipital synchondroses close first, followed by the anterior interoccipital and occipitomastoidal synchondroses, the lambdoid sutures simultaneously, then the petro-occipital and spheno-occipital synchondroses simultaneously. CONCLUSION: The data provide a chronology of synchondrosis closure. We showed that FMA and PCFV are constitutionally smaller in girls at birth (P ⩽.02) and suggest that a sex-related difference in the FMA is related to earlier closure of anterior interoccipital synchondroses in girls (P =.01).


1993 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Chang ◽  
M. M. H. Teng ◽  
J. F. Lirng

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Prochazka ◽  
T. Hrbac ◽  
J. Chmelova ◽  
D. Skoloudik ◽  
M. Prochazka

PHACE(S) syndrome is an acronym for neurocutaneous disease encompassing the expression of (P) posterior cranial fossa malformations, (H) facial haemangiomas, (A) arterial anomalies, (C) aortic coarctaion and other cardiac defects, (E) eye abnormalities and (S) for sternal malformation or stenotic arterial diseases. We report on a case of PHACE syndrome complete expression with persistent fetal vascular anomalies unusually in a 55-year-old women with large bilateral facial and neck haemangioma and posterior fossa circulation insufficiency.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 946-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Ferreira Sabba ◽  
Beatriz Souza Renor ◽  
Enrico Ghizoni ◽  
Helder Tedeschi ◽  
Andrei Fernandes Joaquim

Summary Chiari malformation (CM) is the most common and prevalent symptomatic congenital craniocervical malformation. Radiological diagnosis is established when the cerebellar tonsils are located 5 mm or more below the level of the foramen magnum on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Surgical treatment is indicated whenever there is symptomatic tonsillar herniation or syringomyelia/hydrocephalus. The main surgical treatment for CM without craniocervical instability (such as atlantoaxial luxation) is posterior fossa decompression, with or without duraplasty. The authors describe in details and in a stepwise fashion the surgical approach of patients with CM as performed at the State University of Campinas, emphasizing technical nuances for minimizing the risks of the procedure and potentially improving patient outcome.


2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Warmuth-Metz ◽  
J. K�hl ◽  
J. Krauss ◽  
L. Solymosi

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document