{"id":"78caf1d9-012d-4f35-b202-dcea31cc5691","slug":"recurrent-paraganglioma-of-meckels-cave-case-report-and-a-review-of-anatomic-origin-of-paragangliomas","title":"Recurrent paraganglioma of Meckel’s cave: Case report and a review of anatomic origin of paragangliomas","authors":["Anna Prajsnar","Naci Balak","Gerhard F. Walter","Alexandru C. Stan","Wolfgang Deinsberger","Leyla Tapul","Cicek Bayindir"],"abstract":"Background: Paragangliomas are rare, usually benign tumors of neural crest origin. They account for only 0.6% of all head and neck tumors. In the craniocervical area, they are more common in the carotid body and tympanico-jugular regions. To the authors’ knowledge, a case of paraganglioma in Meckel's cave has not yet been reported in the medical literature. The pathogenesis and natural history of paragangliomas are still not well understood. We present a case of recurrent paraganglioma in Meckel's cave. Case Description: A 53-year-old woman was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, dysesthesia and hypoesthesia on the left side of the face, hearing disturbance and a history of chronic, persistent temporal headaches. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a lesion located in Meckel's cave on the left side, extending to the posterior cranial fossa and compressing the left cerebral peduncle. The lesion was first thought to be a recurrence of an atypical meningioma, as the pathologist described it in the tissue specimen resected 3 years earlier, and a decision for re-operation was made. A lateral suboccipital approach to the lesion was used under neuronavigational guidance. The tumor was removed, and histological examination proved the lesion to be a paraganglioma. Five months later, the follow-up MRI showed local regrowth, which required subsequent surgical intervention. Conclusions: A paraganglioma in Meckel's cave is an uncommon tumor in this location. Although ectopic paragangliomas have been described in the literature, a paraganglioma atypically located in Meckel's cave makes a topographic correlation difficult, mainly because paraganglionic cells are usually not found in Meckel's cave. Another peculiarity of the case is the local recurrence of the tumor in a relatively short time despite an attempted, almost gross total resection.","thumbnailUrl":"https://sni-digital-videos.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/78caf1d9-012d-4f35-b202-dcea31cc5691/featured/hero-1782421056595.png","publishDate":"2011-04-19T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.4103/2152-7806.79763","categories":["Original Article"],"fullTextUrl":"https://surgicalneurologyint.com/api/articles/78caf1d9-012d-4f35-b202-dcea31cc5691/pdf"}