Suprasellar colloid cyst: an unusual location.

BACKGROUND: Colloid cysts are rare intracerebral lesions that are preferentially encountered within the third ventricle. There are only a few reports in which colloid cysts are described in other locations such as the fourth ventricle, brainstem, cerebellum, and suprasellar region.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A young woman presented with headaches for 1 year and an episode of generalized tonic, clonic seizures 1 week ago. She had bitemporal visual field cuts on examination. Imaging showed an hyperdense suprasellar lesion that was isointense on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imagings, profoundly hypointense on T2-weighted images, and did not show any enhancement on contrast magnetic resonance study at follow-up. It showed no restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging. A pteronal craniotomy and total excision of the lesion was done and the patient recovered well with no further neurological deficits. Pathology was consistent with a colloid cyst.

CONCLUSIONS: Colloid cysts are rarely found in a suprasellar location. Such a rare diagnosis has to be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients who present with a suprasellar cystic lesion.