Acromegaly associated with a symptomatic Rathke′s cyst

Abstract

Our aim is to describe a case of acromegaly that was associated with symptomatic Rathke′s cyst. We describe a young male student without any significant family history who presented with clinical and biochemical features consistent with growth hormone excess, which was confirmed with dynamic testing. He also described a persistent headache predating symptoms of growth hormone excess by 4 years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary showed a large sellar mass which was thought to be a somatotroph adenoma. Trans-sphenoidal surgery was performed; however, a colloid lesion was identified by the neurosurgeon that proved to be a Rathke′s cyst. The association of acromegaly with Rathke′s cyst is very rare, with less than 10 cases found to be reported on review of literature. This is the first report from India.

Keywords

• Acromegaly
• colloid cyst
• growth hormone excess
• pituitary adenoma
• pituitary tumor
• Rathke′s cyst