INTRACISTERNAL SCHWANNOMA OF THE SPINAL ACCESSORY NERVE PRESENTING ASA NORMAL-PRESSURE HYDROCEPHALUS SYNDROME - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Schwannomas of the spinal accessory nerve are rare lesions. They can b e characterized by their locations as either intrajugular or intracist ernal schwannomas, most of them being intrajugular. Only five cases ar ising in the cisterna magna are reported in literature. Clinical sympt oms generally consist of 11th cranial nerve palsy associated with cere bellar signs and myelopathy. An additional case, studied by MRI, is de scribed. The patient showed a mild cerebellar syndrome and normal pres sure hydrocephalus symptoms. He was operated on and the mass completel y removed with good postoperative results. The role of MRI for diagnos is of lower cranial nerve schwannomas is stressed, even though does no t detect the exact nerve of origin. Total removal of these lesions is recommended, since their benign nature and unavoidable recurrence in c ase of partial excision.