We experienced a case of solitary trigeminal neurinoma in a 10-year-old boy
without stigmata of neurofibromatosis. This boy presented with progressive
cerebellar ataxia, right abducens palsy and right hemiparesis. Magnetic re
sonance images (MRI) demonstrated a tumour extending into both the middle a
nd posterior fossas forming a dumbbell-shaped mass lesion with a size of 35
x 30 x 45 mm. The tumour was successfully removed free of complications by
a two-stage operation composed of right subtemporal and suboccipital retro
mastoid approaches. It is extremely rare for a solitary neurinoma to occur
at this site in a child without neurofibromatosis. Surgical approaches in t
his type of tumour are discussed with a review of the literature.