Contralateral trigeminal nerve dysfunction as a false localizing sign in an intracranial tumor

Abstract

A 32-year-old female with numbness in her right infraorbital region was diagnosed of a trigeminal nerve dysfunction because of hypesthesia in the right half of her face and loss of her right corneal reflex. Following a stellate ganglion block, the numbness became worse and more widespread the right hemifacial members. Computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance image showed a large tumor in the left posterior fossa. After the total tumor resection, it was diagnosed as meningioma. The contralateral trigeminal nerve dysfunction may be due to a shift of the brain stem by the tumor. Neurological disorders disappeared after the surgery. When neurological dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve is found in a young patient and the effect of stellate ganglion block is unexpected, an intracranial tumor should be ruled out.