Atypical cystic meningiomas arising from the trigeminal nerve: Surgical and neuroradiological consideration

Abstract

Reports on tumours originating from trigeminal nerve/Cavum eckelii (CM) are scarce. Such neoplasms represent less than 0.5% f histologically proved intracranial tumours; among them approxmately one-third are trigeminal schwannomas with the remainder onsisting of meningiomas, lipomas, and epidermoid tumours [1,2]. In the present article we analyzed two cases of dumbbell-shaped eningiomas of the trigeminal nerve, showing unusual characeristics: the absence of dural attachment along with cystic and typical features; meningiomas without dural attachment are rare xcept for intraventricular ones [3,4], meningiomas infrequently ppear cystic-most meningiomas are benign, with only 5–15% havng atypical (WHO grade II) features [3,5]. In the hereby reported cases the neurological and radiologial features led to a incorrect preoperative diagnosis of trigeminal