MASSIVE INTRACRANIAL ARACHNOID CYST IN A DEVELOPMENTALLY NORMAL INFANT - CASE-REPORT AND LITERATURE-REVIEW

Intracranial arachnoid cysts are developmental anomalies that are gene rally asymptomatic, We describe a 6-month-old boy with macrocephaly bu t normal neurological development who was found to have a rare, massiv e basal arachnoid cyst occupying most of the cranium and extending sup eriorly, causing significant shift due to mass effect. A cystoperitone al shunt was placed, producing both a decrease in the arachnoid cyst d imensions and a concomitant reexpansion of parenchyma, After considera tion of various management options, such a shunt system appears to off er a low risk of complications and a high likelihood of success. (C) 1 997 by Elsevier Science Inc.