Case of the month. July 1996--precocious puberty

A 4 year old girl presented with precocious puberty. She had pubic hair, breast buds and showed a height and weight well above the 95th percentile. An MRI scan of the head revealed a discrete mass in the tuber cinereum which was surgically removed. Microscopic examination showed a hypothalamic hamartoma. The clinical, radiologic and microscopic findings in this case are "classic" for hypothalamic hamartoma Other clinical presentations are discussed. The patient's symptoms have regressed following surgery and there has been no regrowth in six months.