Denise Feierabend1, Salah Maksoud2, Aaron Lawson McLean2, Arend Koch3, Rolf Kalff2, Jan Walter2. 1. Department of Neurosurgery, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany. Electronic address: Denise.Feierabend@med.uni-jena.de. 2. Department of Neurosurgery, Jena University Hospital, Am Klinikum 1, 07747 Jena, Germany. 3. Department of Neuropathology, Charité - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1/Virchowweg 15, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Intracranial chondroma is a rare and benign tumor with usual onset in young adulthood. The skull base is the most common site of occurrence although, less often, the tumors can appear at the falx cerebri or at the dural convexity. The differentiation of these lesions from meningiomas through imaging is generally difficult. PATIENT AND METHODS: Clinical case presentation and review of the current literature. RESULTS / CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 25-year-old male patient with a giant convexity chondroma with meningeal attachment in the right frontal lobe that was detected after a first generalized seizure. Based on the putative diagnosis of meningioma, the tumor was completely resected via an osteoplastic parasagittal craniotomy. The postoperative MRI confirmed the complete tumor resection. Histopathological analysis revealed the presence of a chondroma. CONCLUSION: Intracranial chondromas are a rarity and their preoperative diagnosis based on neuroimaging is difficult. In young patients and those with skeletal disease, the differential diagnosis of a chondroma should be considered. In symptomatic patients, operative resection is sensible. In most cases total removal of the tumor is possible and leads to full recovery. When the finding is merely incidental in older patients, a watchful waiting approach is acceptable, given the benign and slow-growing nature of the lesion.
OBJECTIVE:Intracranial chondroma is a rare and benign tumor with usual onset in young adulthood. The skull base is the most common site of occurrence although, less often, the tumors can appear at the falx cerebri or at the dural convexity. The differentiation of these lesions from meningiomas through imaging is generally difficult. PATIENT AND METHODS: Clinical case presentation and review of the current literature. RESULTS / CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 25-year-old male patient with a giant convexity chondroma with meningeal attachment in the right frontal lobe that was detected after a first generalized seizure. Based on the putative diagnosis of meningioma, the tumor was completely resected via an osteoplastic parasagittal craniotomy. The postoperative MRI confirmed the complete tumor resection. Histopathological analysis revealed the presence of a chondroma. CONCLUSION:Intracranial chondromas are a rarity and their preoperative diagnosis based on neuroimaging is difficult. In young patients and those with skeletal disease, the differential diagnosis of a chondroma should be considered. In symptomatic patients, operative resection is sensible. In most cases total removal of the tumor is possible and leads to full recovery. When the finding is merely incidental in older patients, a watchful waiting approach is acceptable, given the benign and slow-growing nature of the lesion.