Aristotelis S Filippidis1, Taylor J Conroy2, Georgios A Maragkos3, James W Holsapple4, Keith G Davies4. 1. Division of Neurosurgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School Affiliate, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: afilippi@bidmc.harvard.edu. 2. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 3. School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 4. Department of Neurosurgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intracranial silicone migration is a rare complication of ocular silicone oil endotamponade and may resemble intraventricular hemorrhage. The etiology of the phenomenon is challenging to understand. CASE DESCRIPTION: In an effort to shed light on this phenomenon, we report a case of a 67-year-old woman with ocular silicone oil endotamponade on the left eye due to retinal detachment who presented with headache to the emergency department. The imaging work-up revealed intraventricular silicone oil migration. CONCLUSIONS: The literature is reviewed through the perspective of pathophysiology. The migration of intraocular silicone oil into the ventricular system provides both an important complication for clinicians to be aware of, as well as a paradigm reminding us that cerebrospinal fluid spaces may have more extensive communications with other body compartments than previously thought.
BACKGROUND: Intracranial silicone migration is a rare complication of ocular silicone oil endotamponade and may resemble intraventricular hemorrhage. The etiology of the phenomenon is challenging to understand. CASE DESCRIPTION: In an effort to shed light on this phenomenon, we report a case of a 67-year-old woman with ocular silicone oil endotamponade on the left eye due to retinal detachment who presented with headache to the emergency department. The imaging work-up revealed intraventricular silicone oil migration. CONCLUSIONS: The literature is reviewed through the perspective of pathophysiology. The migration of intraocular silicone oil into the ventricular system provides both an important complication for clinicians to be aware of, as well as a paradigm reminding us that cerebrospinal fluid spaces may have more extensive communications with other body compartments than previously thought.