A Rare Case of an Intrasellar Arachnoid Cyst With Middle Cranial Fossa Extension

Joseph Silva; Giulia X Bornancin; Ricardo Ramina

doi:10.7759/cureus.41022

A Rare Case of an Intrasellar Arachnoid Cyst With Middle Cranial Fossa Extension

Cureus. 2023 Jun 27;15(6):e41022. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41022. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Joseph Silva¹, Giulia X Bornancin², Ricardo Ramina³

Affiliations

¹ Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute of Curitiba, Curitiba, BRA.
² Neurological Surgery, Neurological Institute of Curitiba, Curitiba, BRA.
³ Neurological Surgery, Instituto Neurológico de Curitiba, Curitiba, BRA.

Abstract

Intrasellar arachnoid cysts represent around 1% of all selar lesions. Generally, patients are asymptomatic and when they exhibit visual and/or hormonal disturbances, the indication for surgery is prompted. A 51-year-old woman with a known purely intrasellar arachnoid cyst diagnosed 23 years prior to presentation, evolved with gradual campimetric evaluation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed significant growth of the lesion, now extending into the left middle fossa through the cavernous sinus. The patient underwent cyst fenestration via the transsphenoidal approach. This is the first case in the literature of a patient with an intrasellar arachnoid cyst extending into the middle cranial fossa.

Keywords: arachnoid cyst; case report; middle fossa cyst; sellar arachnoid cyst; sellar cysts.

Publication types

Case Reports