Solitary pyogenic thalamic abscess--two case reports.

We report two patients with solitary thalamic abscesses, occurring among 91 consecutive patients (2.2%) with computed tomography (CT)-diagnosed and surgically-verified brain abscess experienced in our college during 1975 to 1991. A 9-year-old girl with congenital heart disease experienced frequent vomiting followed by left hemiparesis and deterioration of consciousness. CT demonstrated a right thalamic ring-enhanced lesion. Purulent material was aspirated via a burr hole. She died of heart failure on the 5th postoperative day. Autopsy disclosed diffuse brain swelling and an encapsulated abscess in the right thalamus, which had ruptured into the third ventricle. A 30-year-old female experienced headache, nausea, and vomiting, which progressed to somnolence and right hemiparesis. CT demonstrated a left thalamic ring-enhanced lesion. Purulent material was aspirated by stereotactic procedures. All symptoms had resolved by the end of the 2nd postoperative week.