Cervical spinal meningioma mimicking an arachnoid cyst: A pediatric case report

Meningiomas are rare tumors in children. Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnosis is usually easy, its cystic form can wrongly suggest other diagnoses, such as an epidermoid or arachnoid cyst. We describe an unusual case of cervical cystic meningioma in a child.

A 5-year-old patient was consulted for progressive weakness of all four limbs, making walking impossible. Neurological examination revealed cervical stiffness without meningeal signs and tetrapyramidal syndrome with incomplete tetraplegia. A cervical spine MRI showed a circumscribed intradural extramedullary lesion at the level of C2-C3, which led to a suspicion of a compressive arachnoid cyst. A gross total resection was performed through a posterior approach. During surgery, it was an extramedullary intradural cystic formation containing a clear liquid and a shell adherent to the Dura mater. Postoperative MRI shows satisfactory spinal cord decompression without evidence of residual tumor. The postoperative course was uneventful, with the resumption of independent walking on the 21^st day. Histopathologic examination and immunohistochemistry revealed a grade I meningothelial meningioma according to the 2021 World Health Organization classification of tumors of the central nervous system.

Cystic meningiomas can sometimes suggest another diagnosis on imaging, especially since they are rare in children.