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Sellar Region Epidermoid and Dermoid Cysts

  • Chapter
Atlas of Sellar and Parasellar Lesions

Abstract

Epidermoid and dermoid cysts are developmental anomalies that can occur anywhere in the cranial cavity.

Epidermoid cysts often arise in a paramedian location, most commonly in the region of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA).

Dermoid lesions typically arise in the midline. The most common location is also in the posterior fossa, where they are often associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome or other craniocervical anomalies. They also may occur in the nasal cavity, with extension through the skull base.

These cysts may occasionally present as suprasellar or parasellar lesions.

Rarely, they may present as isolated intrasellar lesions (limited primarily to case reports).

These lesions make up 0.2–0.7 % of major transsphenoidal series.

Sellar region epidermoid and dermoid tumors typically present in middle-aged patients with symptoms of mass effect, including headache, visual loss, and endocrine dysfunction.

Some reports have also described a clinical presentation mimicking pituitary apoplexy.

The cyst contents can be caustic to the surrounding tissue, and in some cases the cyst presents with acute rupture causing chemical meningitis, hemorrhage, seizure, neurological deficits, and/or psychosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1200 N State Street, #3300, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Gabriel Zada MD, MS

  2. Department of Pathology (Neuropathology), University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1215 Lee Street, Room 3060–HEP, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA

    M. Beatriz S. Lopes MD, PhD

  3. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Srinivasan Mukundan Jr. PhD, MD

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 15 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Edward Laws Jr. MD

Authors
  1. Gabriel Zada MD, MS
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  2. M. Beatriz S. Lopes MD, PhD
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  3. Srinivasan Mukundan Jr. PhD, MD
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  4. Edward Laws Jr. MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gabriel Zada MD, MS .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Southern California, LOS ANGELES, California, USA

    Gabriel Zada

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, USA

    M. Beatriz S. Lopes

  3. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA

    Srinivasan Mukundan Jr.

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA

    Edward R. Laws Jr.

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Zada, G., Lopes, M.B.S., Mukundan, S., Laws, E. (2016). Sellar Region Epidermoid and Dermoid Cysts. In: Zada, G., Lopes, M., Mukundan Jr., S., Laws Jr., E. (eds) Atlas of Sellar and Parasellar Lesions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22855-6_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22855-6_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22854-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22855-6

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