Intracranial melanotic schwannoma is quite rare, and involvement of the trigeminal nerve is even rarer. Early diagnosis and surgical excision are the mainstays of management. These tumors have a high tendency to recur and there is high possibility of metastasis. Adjuvant radiotherapy should be considered since the prognosis is uncertain. A 23-year-old man started developing numbness over the left side of the forehead 9 months ago that progressed to involve the ipsilateral cheek. The patient started having diplopia on looking to the left side 8 months ago. His relatives noticed a change in his voice 1 month ago and he developed weakness in the right upper and lower limbs, which was gradually progressive. The patient had slight difficulty swallowing. After examination, we found involvement of multiple cranial nerves with pyramidal signs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was suggestive of an extra-axial lesion in the left cerebellopontine angle extending into the middle cranial fossa, which was having high T1 and T2 signal loss with contrast enhancement. We achieved near-total excision of the tumor via a subtemporal extradural approach. Trigeminal melanotic schwannoma is a rare occurrence constituting melanin-producing cells and Schwann cells. Rapid progression of symptoms and signs should prompt the suspicion of the possible malignant nature of the pathology. Extradural skull base approaches reduce the risk of postoperative deficits. Differentiating melanotic schwannoma from malignant melanoma is of utmost importance in planning of management.
Intradural extramedullary metastasis from breast carcinoma is a rare occurrence. Furthermore, patients with primary breast carcinoma presenting with neurological symptoms in the first place are even rarer, which was the case in our patient. A 60-year-old woman presented with left upper limb monoparesis for 2 years and rapidly progressive weakness in the left lower limb for 1 week. The patient was evaluated and investigated to find primary left breast carcinoma with metastasis to multiple sites including C5-T1 intradural extramedullary spread. The patient was treated surgically, and decompression and tissue diagnosis were achieved to form a base for starting adjuvant therapy and safeguarding further neurological deterioration due to cord compression. In advanced metastatic cancer, preservation of neurologic function is the goal of surgical treatment. Thorough evaluation of patients presenting with a neurological deficit is always mandatory. Patient education is equally important for palliative treatment as well as to help reduce the burden of metastatic diseases.
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