1997 Volume 25 Issue 5 Pages 405-408
We present a case of cavernous angioma in the medulla oblongata that was successfully excised. A 29-year-old man complained of gait disturbance, dysphagia, vertigo, diplopia and numbness of his left hand. Neurological examination revealed left VI, VII, IX, and X cranial nerve palsy. He also had left hemiparesis and right hemihypesthesia. MRI scan demonstrated a ring-like high intensity area in the dorsal portion of the medulla oblongata in T1-weighted images. Three weeks after the onset, the patient underwent an operation in which a suboccipital approach was used. The lesion was mostly hematoma, and a small vascular mass was resected. Histological examination disclosed a cavernous angioma. After surgery, the patient's neurological deficits improved. Surgical resection of cavernous angioma in the medulla oblongata is a reasonable choice of treatment, in accordance with previous reports.
