Intracranial parafalcine chondroma in a pregnant patient.

BACKGROUND

Intracranial chondromas are rare benign neoplasms. We report a patient incidentally diagnosed with an intracranial chondroma during her second trimester.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 22-year-old Caucasian was diagnosed with an incidental parafalcine lesion found during admission due to a motor vehicle accident. Prior to the admission, the patient did not present with any neurological symptom. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) suggested this intracranial lesion to be benign. A decision was made to delay the tumor excision until after delivery. Special anesthesia considerations were made to maintain stable blood pressure and euvolemia during the Cesarean section. The patient underwent a successful gross total removal of the intracranial tumor two months postpartum without any post-operative deficit.

CONCLUSION

This is the first case report of an intracranial parafalcine chondroma in pregnancy. This report highlights the disease course of this rare type of tumor during pregnancy. This case illustrates relevant aspects of the management of a neurologically asymptomatic patient with an incidentally discovered intracranial tumor of which MRS suggested a benign nature.