Unusual complications of a benign tumour – our experience with midline posterior fossa epidermoids

Abstract

Epidermoids of the brain are uncommon benign tumours. Their midline posterior fossa location is exceedingly rare. Fifteen patients with this condition were operated during a 14-year period. Majority of the patients presented in their middle age with mean duration of symptoms of 10 months. Gait imbalance was the commonest symptom observed. Seven patients had features suggestive of raised intracranial tension. Computed tomography scanning showed typical hypodense lesions. On MRI, tumours were hypo-intense on T1 weighted images and hyper-intense on T2 weighted images. All patients underwent microsurgical excision. We encountered certain complications in the post-operative period. This prompted us for a review of our case material and literature and is the basis of the present article. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords::

• epidermoid tumour
• posterior fossa tumour
• posterior midline approach
• heart failure
• neurosurgical intensive care

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.