Challenging, giant occipital encephalocele in a pediatric saipanese male

Abstract

Key Clinical Message Giant occipital encephalocele is a rare form of congenital anomaly that involves protrusion of brain tissue (greater in size than the patient's cranial cavity) from a defect in the skull. This case reports illustrates repair of a giant encephalocele and emphasizes important methods to reduce risk for blood loss and other complications. Abstract A rare form of congenital anomaly, giant occipital encephalocele involves protrusion of brain tissue from a defect in the skull (in this case from the occiput). While encephalocele itself is a fairly rare entity, those qualifying as “giant”—defined by size of the deformity exceeding that of the skull itself – require very technically challenging surgery.

Keywords

• congenital malformation
• dysraphism
• encephalocele
• neural tube defect
• pediatric