Post-traumatic giant occipital pseudomeningocele

Excerpt

Pseudomeningoceles are collections of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the extradural space due to a defect in the dural-arachnoid layers of the meninges. Post-traumatic pseudomeningoceles are rare and usually seen in the cervical region, but they can also occur in the lumbosacral region. Although most patients are asymptomatic, some present with a wide variety of symptoms, including headache, back or neck pain, radicular pain, or motor deficits due to entrapment of nerves. All the patients have a fluctuant swelling that increases in size on Valsalva maneuver (e.g., coughing or sneezing). Giant pseudomeningoceles are considered those that are greater than 8 cm in length.1 Herein, we report the case of a giant occipital pseudomeningocele in an 11-mth-old child presenting 20 days following occipital trauma. …