Encephalocele as a complication post-craniosynostosis surgery

Duraplasty is one of the most common neurosurgical procedures which complications include iatrogenic pseudomeningocele, which is common, but ossification of pseudomeningocele following cranial surgery is a rare event. We present a case of a 2-year-old male patient who came to our hospital with a huge bulge in his head and weakness in the right arm and leg. He had a history of sagittal craniosynostosis with a postoperative cranioplasty complication of left parital pseudomeningocele. He underwent a duraplasty, but the bulge recurred with failed cerebrospinal fluid aspiration and external ventricular drain, changing in size periodically. Computed tomography showed that the bulge was a median and left paramedian parital encephalocele, so encephalocele with ossification was diagnosed and a cranioplasty was done. This case highlights that iatrogenic encephaloceles with ossification can develop after duraplasty repair in the parital region. Also, if a postoperative pseudomeningocele changes in size or consistency, clinicians should look for ossification.