Intracranial meningiomas: diagnosis and treatment

ABSTRACT

Meningiomas are extra-axial central nervous system tumors most often discovered in middle to late adult life, and are more often seen in women. Ninety percent of meningiomas are benign, 6% are atypical, and 2% are malignant. 27 patients collected as aprospective study was conducted over period of 4.5 years between June 2005 and December 2009. At the Al Kadhimyia Teaching Hospital. The most common age group involved was between 40-60 years, showed the female affected more than the male, The common presenting symptoms were headache, hemiparesis, seizures, personality changes and visual impairment respectively, the most common location is frontal region, the most common type is convexity meningioma. Total removal applied in most of the cases, meningiothelial meningioma is the most common histopathology type. Meningiomas are benign tumors where total removal with preservation and improvement of the function is very rewarding the completeness of the surgical removal of the tumor is the single most important prognostic factor. The symptoms and signs produced by Meningiomas fall in to two categories; site specific findings secondary to the actual location of the tumor, and non specific findings secondary to elevation of intracranial pressure