A case of cavernous angioma extended from the ventral part of the pons to the midbrain: subtemporal and trans-tentorial approach

The authors presented a surgically treated case of cavernous angioma extending from the ventral part of the pons to the midbrain. A 20-year old man was admitted to our service with left motor weakness, dysarthria and consciousness disturbance. CT scan revealed a round well-circumscribed high density lesion in the pons and midbrain. This was diagnosed preoperatively as a cryptic vascular malformation with hemorrhage. The right temporal craniotomy with keel form skin incision and subtemporal & trans-tentorial approach was performed in an attempt to remove the hematoma and the angioma. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed abnormal vessels as a cavernous angioma. The postoperative course was uneventful.