Adult bilateral idiopathic occlusion of foramina of Monro: is foraminoplasty really safe and effective?

Idiopathic bilateral occlusion of foramina of Monro is an extremely rare condition in adults and only few cases are reported. Currently, foraminoplasty is indicated as first-line treatment. We reported the case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with headache, instability and urinary incontinence. The imaging demonstrated bilateral occlusion of foramina of Monro and consequent biventricular hydrocephalus. A ventriculo-peritoneal shunt allowed to treat the hydrocephalus, but it was necessary to remove it for the appearance of peritonitis from salpingitis. Since the initial symptomatology reappeared, according to the literature, we performed an endoscopic foraminoplasty with septostomy. The patient immediately developed short-term memory impairment and subsequently we observed the hydrocephalus recurrence. The positioning of a ventriculo-atrial shunt allowed to improve the symptoms, but the memory remained impaired. In case of bilateral true stenosis of foramina of Monro, foraminoplasty may lead to severe memory impairment. Therefore, cerebrospinal fluid shunting should be considered as an effective and safer treatment. © BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2018. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.