[Radiosensitive malignant meningioma presenting Garcin's syndrome: a case report]

A 58-year-old woman with Garcin's syndrome caused by malignant meningioma is reported. She first noticed left facial hypesthesia followed by left visual disturbance with exophthalmos. CT scan showed an enhanced mass extending from the left cavernous sinus to the left orbit. Cranial x-ray revealed bone deformity around the orbit. The tumor was subtotally resected and its histological type was shown to be anaplastic meningioma. After the initial surgery the patient was left with hyposmia, mild ptosis and incomplete 6th cranial nerve palsy on the left side. After one and half years, not only palsy of those cranial nerves but also that of other unilateral cranial nerves became progressively apparent due to tumor regrowth. In total, 11 nerves (2nd-12th) were affected by the tumor, without long tract signs or symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. Radiation therapy carried out after the 2nd surgery was extremely effective and resulted in the recovery of lower cranial nerve function. The tumor was founded to have disappeared completely on the 2-year follow-up CT.