Open Heart Surgery with Intracranial Meningioma: Case Report & Literature Review

Meningiomas are generally considered slow growing tumours of arachnoid cell origin which remain asymptomatic for a long period of time and are usually managed conservatively by serial radiological follow-up. Only those lesions which show a potential for rapid growth are considered for surgical resection. Coronary artery bypass surgery usually involves use of cardiopulmonary bypass which incites varying degrees of systemic inflammatory response. Although some meningiomas are recognised by secretion of vasoactive substances leading to peri-lesion oedema, very little is known about the behaviour of asymptomatic meningiomas during a normal run of cardiopulmonary bypass where there is a significant rise in the plasma level of many vasoactive substances. We report the case of a 68 year-old male patient with asymptomatic meningioma who required urgent coronary artery bypass surgery leading to peri-lesion oedema and significant post-operative morbidity due to reversible neurological deficit.