An arachnoid cyst you don’t see every day

Abstract

A 53 years-old male, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and liver cirrhosis due to HCV infection, was hospitalized at the Gastroenterology Department for paraclinical workup, prior to inclusion on the liver transplantation waiting list. The patient was known with a gigantic arachnoid cyst and presented a transient ischemic attack one year prior, for which treatment with aspirin was initiated. Consequently, we performed a brain MRI examination, which disclosed a left-sided gigantic arachnoid cyst with mass effect, midline shift of 9 mm and subfalcine herniation. No focal neurologic deficits or signs of increased intracranial pressure were found on neurological examination. Following neurosurgical evaluation, the presence of the cyst was not deemed to be a contraindication for liver transplantation.