Cavernous Malformation of the Seventh Cranial Nerve: Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Cavernous malformations (CMs) arising in the cranial nerves are rare. Only a few cases of facial nerve CMs have been reported in the literature. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 52-year old woman presented with headache, unilateral worsening facial weakness, and hearing loss. Imaging was suggestive of a CM of the cerebellopontine angle. Intraoperatively, a mulberry-shaped lesion was seen arising entirely within the seventh nerve. The patient underwent complete resection with sural nerve interposition graft.
CONCLUSIONS: CMs are very rare but should be included in the differential diagnosis of cerebellopontine angle masses.