Hemangioblastoma of the Fourth Ventricle Mimicking a Posterior Fossa Medulloblastoma in a Child

Abstract

Hemangioblastomas are benign vascular tumors of the central nervous system, rarely affecting children with an incidence less than 1 per 1,000,000. The development of an intraventricular hemangioblastoma is exceptional, just a few cases have been reported in adults. We report a case of hemangioblastoma of the fourth ventricle in a 9-year-old girl without pathological history. Revealed by a rapidly progressive signs of intracranial hypertension and a static cerebellar syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed a homogeneous mass of the fourth ventricle measuring 44 x 36 x 32 mm. We first performed a ventriculoperitoneal shunt after a few days we proceeded to a partial resection of this lesion. Histopathological study confirmed the diagnosis of hemangioblastoma. Pediatric hemangioblastoma (PHB) of the fourth ventricle is the only case reported in the literature. This diagnosis can be evoked in front of a solid lesion of the fourth ventricle, especially in the context of von Hippel-Lindau disease.