Complete endoscopic removal of colloid cyst using a nitinol basket retriever

Neuroendoscopic treatment of colloid cysts is limited by the reach and flexibility of the instruments that can be passed through the working channels of the rigid neuroendoscope. The authors describe a case of a third ventricular colloid cyst where a large solid colloid fragment was recovered using a nitinol stone retrieval basket as a flexible wall-guided atraumatic salvage instrument. A flexible nitinol stone retrieval basket was successfully used through an endoscopic working channel to retrieve a large portion of the colloid cyst from the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle in a 70-year-old man who presented with progressive memory loss, urinary incontinence, and slowness of gait. A flexible nitinol stone retrieval basket can be safely and effectively maneuvered in the ventricular system, using the ventricular wall for deflection, and can be used to retrieve colloid cyst fragments as a salvage technique. Remaining free-floating large colloid cyst fragments in the ventricular system do not necessarily require a second craniotomy or bur hole for access but may be retrieved using a nitinol stone retrieval basket.