Rare occurrence of gangliocytoma in the medulla oblongata

Gangliocytoma is an uncommon low-grade neuroepithelial tumour arising in the cerebral hemispheres, with medulla oblongata being extremely rare site of occurrence. We report a case of an 8-year-old female with recurrent vomiting, hypertension and left hemifacial spasms with a dorsally exophytic lesion arising from the medulla projecting into the fourth ventricle. She underwent excision of the lesion with intra operative cranial nerve monitoring guidance. Histopathology revealed clusters of large mature ganglion cells which were labelled by synaptophysin and CD34. Extreme rarity in this location makes clinical diagnosis and management of gangliocytoma challenging, although prompt diagnosis and total excision has a successful outcome. There are only six previous reports of gangliocytoma in the medulla oblongata.