title: Suboccipital meningocele presenting as a huge retropharyngeal mass in a patient with neurofibromatosis Type 1. Case report.
abstract: The authors report an extremely rare case of neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) with a suboccipital meningocele presenting as a huge retropharyngeal mass. A 73-year-old woman with typical cutaneous manifestations of NF1 presented with nasal obstruction and dysphagia due to a retropharyngeal mass. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge mass lesion extending from the right occipital bone defect to the retropharynx through the right paravertebral region. Computerized tomography scanning after intrathecal administration of contrast material confirmed that the mass was a meningocele protruding through a right occipital bone defect. The authors attempted to ligate this meningocele, most of which was excised via a suboccipital approach, but a second transcervical operation was required. Finally, the meningocele resolved and the patient was discharged without symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurimoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirashima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takaku
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008588:Meningocele / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis; D009456:Neurofibromatosis 1 / Q000150:complications*; D009777:Occipital Bone; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed