title: A case of ecchordosis physaliphora presenting with an abducens nerve palsy: A rare symptomatic case managed with endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ecchordosis physaliphora (EP) is a benign notochordal remnant that is usually asymptomatic; symptomatic cases are extremely rare. Most of the reported symptomatic cases were managed by resection via craniotomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report a case of a 20-year-old male presenting with abducens nerve palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging performed on admission demonstrated a mass in the retroclival prepontine location. The patient was treated successfully by endoscopic endonasal trans-sphenoidal surgery (ETSS), his postoperative course was uneventful, and the abducens nerve palsy disappeared.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ETSS has advantages not only for treatment but also for differentiation between EP and intradural chordoma. This is the first case of symptomatic EP successfully treated solely by ETSS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Kumamoto, Japan ; Center of Neurosurgery, Nobeoka Hospital, Nobeoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Shigetoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Takuichiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hide
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuratsu
keywords: Abducens nerve palsy; chordoma; ecchordosis physaliphora; endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery