Massive congenital intracranial teratoma: perioperative coagulation impairment

Massive congenital intracranial teratoma is a rare neoplasm with a poor prognosis. Surgery may be curative only if complete resection can ben obtained. Several single case reports have been published in the pediatric literature, mostly focusing on prenatal diagnosis. The authors describe six patients with congenital intracranial teratoma treated at their institution in the past decade. Perioperatively, a marked hemostatic derangement was observed in three of them undergoing surgery: the pathophysiology of this complication is discussed. The surgical indication itself represents an ethical dilemma when treating a large intracranial tumor with partial destruction and replacement of brain structures.