Clinical features of middle cranial fossa arachnoid cyst and its surgical intervention

Abstract

Objective o investigate the clinical characteristics of middle cranial fossa arachnoid cyst （MCFAC） and its therapeutic effects with different surgical methods. Methods Three hundred and fifty-two patients with MCFAC （about 2.58% of patients with intracranial space occupying lesion）,admitted to our hospital from May 2001 to May 2008, were chosen in out study; their clinical data,surgical approach and prognosis were analyzed retrospectively. The gender ratio of patient with MCFAC adopted resection of arachnoid cyst and arachnoid cyst-peritoneal shunt was performed in 28 patients.Results Follow-up was performed for 3 months to 3 years. The headache completely disappeared in 75 patients （58.59%） and partial remission in 41 （32.03%） after the operation. The frequency and degree of seizures obviously decreased in 8 of the patients with MCFIAC. Eleven patients with dystropy,attention-deficit disorder or difficulty of learning got improvement. The head circumference and local skull eminentia was stable. The cyst disappeared completely in 46 patients （13.07%）, partially in 257 （73.01%） and no changes in 49 （13.92%）. Conclusion The clinical features of MCFAC is that it mainly occur in the left side of male. The younger the patient with MCFAC is, the better the treatment effect in the surgical intervention is. good outcome can be achieved by resection of the parietal layer of arachnoid cysts. The indication of shunt with meso-low pressure shunt system is for larger arachnoid cyst. Key words: Arachnoid cyst; Middle cranial fossa; Neurosurgery