Four cases of cerebral dermoid tumour with an intraventricular, occipital and sellar location are reported, representing 0.04% of the verified cerebral tumours in the authors' statistics. A recurrence occurred after one year in the first case of intraventricular dermoid tumour; after the second operation aseptic meningitis developed and the patient died. In the second case microscopic examination revealed aspects of malignant transformation of the tumour. The symptoms did not differ from those of other cerebral tumours. Operations should be radical whenever possible, avoiding dispersion of the tumour contents in order to prevent a recurrence or aseptic meningitis.

The authors present 27 cases of cerebral hydatid cyst (CHCy) treated between 1980 and 1992. These cases of CHCy represent 2.8% of all cases of expansive nontraumatic lesions in children. Most of the patients were between 6 and 10 years of age. There was a substantial prevalence of male patients-18 cases (66.6%). Most of the children with CHCy were from rural areas. The cysts were all located in the cerebral hemispheres (none in the posterior fossa). Usually two or three lobes were affected and the cysts were most often retrorolandic. Only 8 patients (29.6%) also had pulmonary or hepatic infestation. All patients were operated on immediately the diagnosis was established. Operative mortality was very low (1 patient died immediately after surgery). There have been 11 cases of recurrence; all these patients have been reoperated on. Neurological sequelae were mainly partial and general seizures. Epilepsy developed postoperatively in five patients. Paresis, which usually disappears in time, was the most common motor disturbance. Two other important postoperative complications were subdural effusion and ventricular dilatation (six cases). There have been five cases of multiple recurrences (four of these patients have since died). Treatment with albendazole was used in three cases without significant results.

This paper concerns two cases of cerebral oligodendroglioma (intraventricular in one case, right temporal in the other), with spinal dissemination (cervical and upper thoracic respectively), manifested clinically 2 years and 14 months respectively after removal of the cerebral tumour. Anatomical examination confirmed the diagnosis of disseminated oligodendroglioma in the leptomeninges in both cases and also in the parenchyma in the second case.

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