ABSTRACT
We report the case of an 8-year-old boy who presented with a 2-month history of headaches and mild visual impairment and was found to have a medulloblastoma with primary leptomeningeal involvement. No mass lesion was found on imaging studies, during subsequent intraoperative surgical inspection or at autopsy. The pathologic findings were first documented on cerebrospinal fluid cytologic examination and biopsy of the cerebellum and were later confirmed at necropsy. To our knowledge, this is the third reported case of medulloblastoma identified with primary leptomeningeal involvement without a cerebellar mass and the first such case with documented autopsy findings.
Subject(s)
Cerebellar Neoplasms/pathology , Medulloblastoma/pathology , Meningeal Neoplasms/pathology , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Cerebellar Neoplasms/therapy , Child , Combined Modality Therapy , Fatal Outcome , Humans , Male , Medulloblastoma/therapy , Meningeal Neoplasms/therapy , Neurosurgical ProceduresABSTRACT
Talc is a commonly used sclerosing agent for pleurodesis. However, there have been recent reports of a number of complications associated with the use of talc. Although there is significant data regarding the respiratory complications associated with talc, reports of bleeding complications are extremely rare. We present the case of a 78 year-old man who was treated with talc pleurodesis for recurrent pleural effusion and subsequently developed a massive hemothorax, a rare complication.
