Intracranial ependymal cyst with unusual presentation: Case report and review of literature

Abstract

Background: Ependymal cysts remain a very rare cause of neurological symptoms among intracranial cystic lesions. It differs from an arachnoid cyst, as it does not communicate with subarachnoid space. Case description: A 33-year-old woman was admitted in our neurosurgery department with history of headache, vomiting and right unilateral blindness. Neuroimaging studies showed an intraparenchymal cystic lesion in the right frontal lobe with radiologic characteristic as seen in the ependymal cyst or hydatic cyst. She underwent the neurosurgical procedure of marsupialization and was discharged on day 6 post op. At one month follow up, the patient presented with a decrease vision acuity on the left eye, and head CT scan showed a recurrence of the cyst hence, we performed a second surgery with shunt procedure. Histological examination of the resected tissue demonstrated that, it was an ependymal cyst. Conclusion: Since there is often times a clinico-radiological discordance they are generally incidental findings in majority of cases. While complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for the symptomatic cysts, cystic fluid diversion presents a better compromise nevertheless in cases where this may not be achieved. Keywords: Ependymal cyst, Brain, MRI, Surgery