Pineal region tumours in pediatric age group

ABSTRACT

16 cases of pineal region tumors in the pediatric age group constitute the subject of this study. After thorough investigations both clinical, radiological and laboratory, they were all operated upon by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to divert the cerebrospinal fluid. This was followed in 15 cases by the favored occipital transtentorial approach and in one by the supracerebellar infratentorial approach. The microsurgical bipolar suction irrigation technique was used in all cases. The aim was to decompress as much as possible of the lesion mounting to complete excision and to attain ample biopsy for tissue diagnosis. There were no surgical mortalities. The outcome was excellent in 14 cases, one surgical morbidity in a highly invasive tumor, one incident of transient visual field defect and only one mortality due to hematemesis 2 weeks postoperative