A 41-year-old gentleman presented to the eye clinic complaining of seeing floaters before both eyes since 2 weeks. On questioning, he admitted getting intermittent dull headache of mild to moderate intensity and dizziness on and off while walking since 2 months. There was no associated nausea or vomiting or other neurological symptoms. He was detected to be a hypertensive few months ago and was on treatment with lisinopril 5-mg daily.\nOcular examination revealed a best-corrected Snellen's visual acuity of 6/6 p in both eyes. Anterior segment examination showed exotropia of about 45° in left eye that was alternating. Rest of anterior segment examination including intraocular pressure was normal. Fundoscopy of the right eye revealed early vitreous hemorrhage. The disc showed slight blurring of margins associated with peripapillary retinal hemorrhages []. Fundus examination of the left eye showed early vitreous hemorrhage and blurring of disc margin. There was a small area of preretinal hemorrhage inferior to the disc []. B scan ultrasound also confirmed early vitreous hemorrhage.\nA diagnosis of bilateral early disc edema with mild vitreous hemorrhage was made, and he was investigated. Contrast-enhanced CT scan of brain showed a well-defined oval nonenhancing hyperdense lesion measuring 2 × 1.9 × 2.3 cm at the anterosuperior aspect of third ventricle bulging through the right foramen of Monro and compressing the left foramen of Monro causing dilatation of both lateral ventricles with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) seepage []. Fourth ventricle appeared normal. Moderate 0.8-cm midline shift was also seen to the left side.\nA presumptive diagnosis of colloid cyst causing moderate obstructive hydrocephalus was made, and he was referred urgently to the department of neurosurgery. He underwent emergency craniotomy and cyst excision. Histopathological examination of the excised tissue showed cyst contents lined by cyst wall lined by ciliated cuboidal epithelium resting on fibrocollagenous tissue consistent with colloid cyst. Postoperative CT scan showed pneumocephalus and subdural collection in the right frontotemporal region that resolved spontaneously after few days.\nThe patient improved symptomatically following surgery. On follow-up after 1 month, he reported complete resolution of floaters and headache.\nFundus evaluation showed resolving vitreous hemorrhage and disc edema. Follow-up after 3 months showed complete resolution of disc edema and vitreous hemorrhage [Figure and ]. He is being followed up closely for recurrence of symptoms. He has remained asymptomatic for the last 18 months after the intervention.
A 77-year-old white woman presented to the emergency room with complaints of headaches, memory loss, and abnormal gait for the past 4 months. She had a 10-year history of a controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. At neurological examination, she was awake, partially oriented, with pupils equal round and reactive to light, without papilledema, perceived strength, eumetric intention tremor, no frontal release signs, and ataxia of gait.\nA magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a hyperintense T1WI solid cystic lesion measuring 3.0 cm×2.8 cm×2.9 cm located inside the anterior portion of the third ventricle causing obstructive hydrocephalus. The posterior portion of the lesion was predominantly solid and hypointense on T2WI and on gradient echo (GRE) T2WI, and the anterior portion was predominantly cystic with both hyper- and hypointense areas on T1WI and T2WI, with no suppression on fluid- attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and no restriction to diffusion. The solid portion was hypointense on T1WI and demonstrated heterogeneous areas of enhancement after gadolinium contrast agent administration; there were also some peripheral sparse areas of enhancement in the cystic portion of the lesion. These heterogeneous peripheral enhancements and hypointensity on GRE TW2I are consistent with either hemosiderin or calcifications, raising concern for an atypical colloid cyst or a cystic craniopharyngioma [].\nA left frontal craniotomy with pterional approach and a transfrontal route using endoscopic visualization and stereotactic guidance were performed, and the intraventricular lesion was removed microsurgically. The solid part of the lesion was excised, and most of the capsules were removed except for the part densely adherent to the floor of the third ventricle. About 3–4 ml of “machine-like oil” fluid was also drained.\nIn the intraoperative view, the lesion was solid cystic located in the third ventricle near the foramen of Monro. The specimen received and fixed in 10% buffered formalin, displayed a nodular appearance, measured 2.5 cm×2.0 cm×2.0 cm, and weighed 7.0 g. It was surrounded by a delicate irregular membrane, with a yellowish color and friable areas. The solid part was firm, grayish-black in color, and avascular [].\nIn the intraoperative histological examination, a diagnosis of craniopharyngioma was made, but the definitive histopathological examination of the excised specimen revealed a colloid cyst lined by a single layer of cuboidal, partially flattened nonciliated and ciliated epithelial cells. There was a high prevalence of macrophages and epithelioid cells, many of which included refractile material and hemosiderin. In addition, cholesterol clefts and lymphocytes were seen in focal sets. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes were diffusely spread out throughout the granuloma []. The final diagnosis of a xanthogranulomatous colloid cyst with hemosiderosis was made. The immediate post-operative MRI demonstrated an almost complete reduction of the cystic lesion, with some sparse areas of contrast agent enhancement, and normalization in the lateral ventricle size []. Clinically, the patient evolved with the gradual improvement of the condition; she was discharged and followed-up conservatively with serial neuroimaging.