Petrous apex cephalocele and empty sella-arachnoid cyst coexistence: a clue for cerebrospinal fluid pressure inbalance?

Petrous apex cephalocoele: contribution of coexisting intracranial pathologies to the aetiopathogenesis

“…In one patient, bilateral PAC was accompanied by a left frontotemporal arachnoid cyst. These findings support the studies of Alorainy 2 and Hatipoglu et al 5 One of our patients (a 45-year-old female patient) had rhinorrhoea. Coexistence of PAC and rhinorrhoea has only been reported in paediatric patients in the literature.…”

“…7 Alorainy 2 had detected empty sella in all five patients with PAC and arachnoid cyst in the middle cranial fossa in one patient. Hatipoglu et al 5 have reported empty sella in all four patients with PAC and arachnoid cyst in the Sylvian fissure in one patient.…”

“…Considering that raised ICP is one of the major causes of PAC, 2,5 it would be possible to discuss its role if ICP was measured in the reported cases, which is a limitation of this study. To clarify the aetiopathogenesis of PAC, it seems important to measure ICP in future cases.…”

“…3,4 The coexistence of PAC and empty sella or arachnoid cyst has been reported in the literature and was suggested to support the possible role of disturbance of CSF circulation in pathophysiology. 2,5 In this study, we report the largest series of patients with PAC and other coexistent intracranial pathologies.…”

A Rare Case of Basioccipital Encephalomeningocele with Tethered Dermoid Presenting as Cranial Nerve Palsy: A Case Report

“…The petrous apex cephaloceles are postulated to form as a result of alterations in intracranial pressure [9]. Our case showed right hypoplastic petrous bone with a lateral clival bony defect.…”