title: Hypertrophic pachymeningitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) is a rare clinical entity characterized by diffuse or localized fibrous thickening of the dura mater. It is well known but rare especially in pediatric population disease of differing origins. The primary (idiopathic) form is diagnosed after excluding other possible etiologies. Similar results from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patients with hypertrophic pachymeningitis and meningiomas may make the diagnosis confusing. Additionally, making a proper diagnosis without histological sampling can be difficult in some cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present a case of an 18-year-old boy diagnosed with hypertrophic pachymeningitis in the area of the hypoglossal canal. The diagnosis was made after a 2-month history of hypoglossal nerve palsy and dysphagia preceded by a middle ear infection. The patient was treated surgically with suspicion of meningioma, but no evidence of a tumor was found during the operation. The postoperative period was uneventful. At the latest check-up, MRI revealed regression of all previously observed pathological changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a, 02-097, Warszawa, Poland, tomasz_dziedzic@wp.pl.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dziedzic
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wojciechowski
authors.forename: Arkadiusz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004388:Dura Mater / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*