Report on successful surgery of cavernous angioma in the dorsal part of the pons--usefulness of MRI in diagnosis

A case with cavernous angioma which was located in the dorsal of the pons was cured surgically. A 16-year-old male was admitted with complaints of right motor and sensory disturbance. On neurological examination, the patient had right hemiparesis and hemiparesthesia, and right cerebellar signs. X-ray CT scan demonstrated a high density mass in the pons. Carotid and vertebral angiograms showed no abnormality. T1 and T2 weighted MRI clarified the pontine mass not as a tumor but a hematoma. Then, from the age of the patient, his clinical course, follow up X-ray CT and MRI findings, it was considered that a pontine lesion must have been an angioma with hemorrhage. Therefore, the operation was performed in an attempt to removal the hematoma and the mass of abnormal vessels in the dorsal part of the pons. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed abnormal vessels as a cavernous angioma. The postoperative course was uneventful.