INTRACRANIAL CHONDROID CHORDOMA

Chordomas are rare tumours that arise from remnants of the primitive n otochord, Chondroid chordoma is believed to be a variant of chordoma. We present a patient with a chondroid chordoma presenting with an ocul omotor nerve palsy Computed tomography (er) demonstrated a mildly enha ncing mass in the parasellar region and a markedly enhanced mass in th e prepontine cistern. Magnetic resonance imaging also demonstrated a m oderately enhanced, dumb-bell shaped mass. The parasellar mass was rem oved and the oculomotor nerve palsy disappeared three months after ope ration. Histology of the resected specimen revealed chondroid chordoma . One year after surgery she developed a left hemiparesis. CT demonstr ated haemorrhage in the prepontine tumour. The encapsulated tumour wit h haematoma was removed and histology revealed that the tumour was com posed of only chordoma tissue without cartilaginous tissue. The tumour s located in the parasellar region and prepontine cistern enhanced dif ferently on CT.