Capillary hemangioma of the fourth ventricle in an infant. Case report and review of the literature.

A 3-month-old boy presented to the pediatric neurosurgery service with central hypotonia. Magnetic resonance images of the brain revealed a homogeneously enhancing dumbbell-shaped mass located in the fourth ventricle and extending into the left cerebellopontine angle (CPA). A suboccipital craniotomy was performed and a gross-total resection of the mass was achieved. Pathological examination of the resected tissue confirmed the diagnosis of capillary hemangioma. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of a capillary hemangioma occurring in this location. The authors provide a review of the current literature on intracranial capillary hemangiomas and conclude that, despite the rarity of these lesions, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of lesions in the fourth ventricle and/or the CPA in children.