Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the localization, gender distribution and symptoms of intracranial arachnoid cysts and to classify middle cranial fossa cysts by Galassi type retrospectively.

Material and Methods: Brain magnetic resonance imaging scans of the children from January 2017 to October 2018 were reviewed retrospectively to analyze arachnoid cysts detected in children. A total of 193 patients (65 female, 128 male) were included with median age of 7 years (range 0-18).The 193 study subjects had 214 intracranial arachnoid cysts. There were more than one cysts in 20 patients.

Results: Localizations of the lesions were as follows; middle cranial fossa (n=109), posterior fossa (n=59), frontal and paryetal convexity (n=16), pontocerebellar(n=14), intraventricular (n=7), sylvian fissure (n=5), quadrigeminal cistern (n=4). Galassi classification of 109 middle cranial fossa arachnoid cysts were as follows: type 1 (n=81), type 2 (n=19) and type 3 (n=9). Headache and seizure arecommon semptoms. All of the Galassi type 3 cyst (9 patient) caused shift and 6 intraventricular cysts caused hydrocephalus.

Conclusion: Intracranial arachnoid cysts are non neoplastic, benign, eksatraaxial developmental anomalies that may be clinically asymptomatic if they are not large. The most common symptoms are headache and seizures. Always even if it seems to be an innocent process, hydrocephalus and shift is serious problem in large size and midline cysts. MRI is reliable imaging method for location, size, long-term follow-up and associated brain anomalies or lesions detection.

Keywords: Arachnoid cyst, Intracranial, Magnetic resonance imaging

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How to cite

1.
Yılmaz Ş, Sivri M. MRI Findings of Intracranial Arachnoid Cysts in Pediatric Patient. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2020 Sep. 29 [cited 2025 Aug. 23];14(5):440-4. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/667