Primary central nervous system (CNS) plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) in immunocompetent patients is an extremely rare disease, and only three cases had been reported till date. We present a case of a young female of age 21 years immunocompetent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) negative, presented to us with left frontal lesion with weakness of the right upper and lower limbs for 9 months. Magnetic resonance images showed ring-enhancing lesions resembling a cavernoma or tuberculoma. Histopathological diagnosis was PBL. Surgical excision of tumor, followed by rapid recurrence with bleed in 3-month duration, was treated by adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. We report a young immunocompetent, HIV-negative, and EBV-negative female, with rapidly progressive primary CNS solitary PBL in the posterior frontal region, developed rapid recurrence of the tumor twice despite gross total excision.

Hemorrhage associated with meningiomas is extremely rare and most commonly occurs in convexity meningiomas of higher grade or the angioblastic variety. Moreover, bleeding associated with a meningioma usually occurs in the form of a subdural hematoma or subarachnoid hemorrhage. We report a case of giant left medial sphenoid wing meningioma with histopathological diagnosis of a meningothelial type with apoplexy. A 54-year-old female presented with clinical features suggestive of apoplexy. Her neuroimaging demonstrated a large left medial sphenoid wing meningioma with features suggestive of an intratumoral bleed with mass effect. Gross total excision of the tumor was done with the good postoperative outcome. The biopsy came out to be Grade I meningothelial meningioma. Apoplexy in meningiomas is extremely rare with a reported incidence of 0.5%–2.4%, especially in a nonconvexity meningioma with histopathological diagnosis of meningothelial variety. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical intervention are critical as meningiomas associated with apoplexy are associated with high morbidity.

Background: “Thirteen-and-a-half” is a newly described clinical syndrome characterized by the combination of the one-and-a-half syndrome with fifth and seventh cranial nerve nuclei involvement (11/2 + 5 + 7 = 131/2). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of the thirteen-and-a-half syndrome secondary to pontine cavernoma and, overall, only the second reported case of this syndrome in the literature till date. Case Report: A 20-year-old man presented with the clinical features suggestive of the thirteen-and-a-half syndrome, explained radiologically by pontine cavernoma. We operated him using a suboccipital transvermian approach and he is doing well at 2.5 years follow-up. Interestingly, his one-and-a-half syndrome has partially improved to left horizontal gaze palsy. Conclusion: The clinical appreciation of the thirteen-and-a-half syndrome precisely localizes the lesion to ipsilateral dorsal pontine tegmentum. Neurosurgeons must be aware of the newly described “one-and-a-half- plus” syndromes as they help in a better understanding of pathoanatomy caused by different disease processes in the brainstem.

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Background: Occipital transtentorial approach for selected posterior third ventricular or retrosplenium region tumors provides an ergonomic and safe access. Over centuries, the opponents of this approach highlight the problem of postoperative visual field defect, related to the retraction of occipital lobe. The aim was to describe the surgical nuances of gravity-assisted retractor-less occipital-transtentorial approach (GAROTA) as a modification of originally described GAROTA to minimize the complications with a similar ease of surgery. Methods: In this study, we have retrospectively analyzed our prospectively maintained surgical databases of patients operated by occipito-transtentorial from 2015 to 2019. Demographic variables, preoperative and postoperative neurological deficits (especially visual field defect) were analyzed. Radiological data included relation of veins with tumor, presence of hydrocephalus, size, and extent of lesion. Results: Fifteen patients underwent GAROTA (right-sided extension, n = 7; left-sided extension, n = 4; and midline lesions, n = 4). Headaches (73.3%) and diplopia (40%) were the most common symptoms. No patient had any postoperative visual deficits in both short-term and long-term follow-up. Conclusion: A thorough anatomical knowledge of posterior third interhemispheric region in the semi-prone position is required for GAROTA. Meticulous arachnoid dissection around the deep venous complex and release of cerebrospinal fluid through the cisterns is required. Postoperative cortical vision loss may be prevented by following the key surgical principles in GAROTA.