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Unusual Presentation of Cerebral Cavernous Malformation
Won-Hyung Kim1, Dong-Jun Lim1, Jong-Il Choi1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan, Korea.
Journal of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
|November 3, 2015
Summary
Cerebral cavernous malformations (CMs) can initially appear as simple cysts on brain MRI. Early recognition is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management of these vascular brain lesions.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Radiology
Background:
- Cerebral cavernous malformations (CMs) are vascular anomalies in the central nervous system.
- Typical MRI findings include nodules/cysts with mixed signal intensity and a hemosiderin rim.
- CMs can be asymptomatic and incidentally discovered on neuroimaging.
Observation:
- A 48-year-old male presented with incidental abnormal brain MRI findings.
- Initial MRI revealed a cystic lesion with a fluid-fluid level in the left basal ganglia.
- The asymptomatic lesion was monitored with serial MRI follow-up.
Findings:
- The cystic mass enlarged over 5 months.
- Follow-up MRI demonstrated findings consistent with a cystic cerebral cavernous malformation.
- Pathological diagnosis confirmed cerebral cavernous malformation after surgical resection.
Implications:
- Cerebral cavernous malformations can present as pure cysts.
- Neurosurgeons should consider CMs in the differential diagnosis of cystic cerebral lesions.
- Intracystic hemorrhage may be an early indicator of CMs presenting as cysts.
