Persisting intraventricular fat-fluid levels following surgery on a ruptured dermoid cyst of the posterior fossa.
Intracranial dermoid cysts occasionally rupture spontaneously into the ventricles or into the subarachnoid space. In such cases, intraventricular fat-fluid levels are invariably evident at computed tomography and may even be visible on a conventional radiograph of the skull. A case is described in which fat was observed to remain in the ventricles long after surgical removal of a dermoid cyst. We think that this fat, by causing obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid pathways, should be regarded as a potential cause of intermittent elevation of intracranial pressure.
D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003884:Dermoid Cyst / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D012421:Rupture; D012886:Skull / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed