Rathke's cleft cyst presentation mimicking craniopharyngioma: Case report

Rathke's cleft cysts (RCCs) are benign cystic lesions from the remnant cells of the craniopharyngeal duct within Rathke's pouch. Anticipation of such condition will help planning the treatment course.

We present a case of a 46-year-old male, referred to our tertiary center with a history of seizures, confusion and agitation for the past two weeks. After thorough investigations, he was found to have hyponatremia with low serum cortisol and hypothyroidism. After being sedated, intubated and stabilized, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain showed relatively medium to large sellar lesion which was highly suspicious of a craniopharyngioma (CP). However, after performing an endoscopic transphenoidal surgical resection of the lesion, clinical diagnosis supported RCC.

The best treatment approach for CP is a complete surgical resection via a transphenoidal approach. Considering the fluid component of RCC, it may be treated with a more conservative surgery and does not necessitate a surgery as invasive as that of CP.

Given the mixed solid and cystic nature of CPs, it is possible to confuse it with RCC and vice versa. The presented case highlights that Rathke's cyst may be challenging in terms of pre-operative diagnosis, peri-surgical management and histopathological examination.