Is there a need to diagnose Rathke's cleft cyst preoperatively?
BACKGROUND
Rathke's cleft cyst is a rare benign sellar lesion. The exact preoperative diagnosis of this lesion by clinical and radiological features is difficult. Hence it is often misdiagnosed as craniopharyngioma.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the radiological pointers for pre operative diagnosis of Rathke's cleft cyst.


METHODS
This study presents the details of nine patients who were operated in our institution between 1998 and 2008. Radiological and histopathological variations were studied.


RESULTS
The possibility of Rathke's cleft cyst was considered pre operatively in one patient only. On reviewing the images, characteristic imaging findings were observed in a few cases.


CONCLUSIONS
As minimally invasive trans-sphenoidal approach is sufficient for treating these lesions, pre operative diagnosis is important.
Raghunath
A
A
Department of Neurosurgery, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Sampath
S
S
Devi
B Indira
BI
Chandramouli
B A
BA
Lal
G Jagath
GJ
Chickabasaviah
Yasha T
YT
Bharath
Rose Dawn
RD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020863:Central Nervous System Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D003399:Craniotomy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome