[Intrasellar arachnoid cyst. A case report and review of the literature].

Intrasellar arachnoid cyst (IAC) is a very rare pathological lesion occurring in 5 of 1000 autopsy cases, and constitutes 9% of all arachnoid cysts. As a space-occupying mass, IAC may cause headaches, visual disturbances, hypopituitarism, precocious puberty, and the "bobble-head doll" syndrome. The pathogenesis of IAC remains controversial. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the neurodiagnostic tool of choice to evaluate IAC. The authors presented a 38 year-old woman suffering from severe chronic headaches, dysmenorrhea, and visual disturbance. MRI revealed an intrasellar cystic lesion that had compressed the optic chiasma. Preoperative endocrinological assessment revealed hyperprolactinemia and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. The patient underwent transsphenoidal surgery. The cyst membrane was opened and clear, serous fluid was evacuated. The postoperative course was complicated by CSF leakage, which was corrected by an autologous fat graft placement. Visual field defects improved immediately after surgery but a transient panhypopituitarism and diabetes insipidus occurred. Postoperative MRI revealed no recurrence of the lesion during the four-year follow-up.