Cystic Craniopharyngioma with Spontaneous Shrinkage of the Cyst: Case Report

A rare case of cystic craniopharyngioma with spontaneous shrinkage of the cyst is reported. The patient, a 43-year-old male was referred because of visual field defect, transient disturbed consciousness and abnormal computerized tomography (CT) findings. Contrast enhanced CT scans showed a suprasellar cystic lesion with a high density nodule. Repeated CT scans revealed spontaneous shrinkage of the cystic lesion. The decrease in size of the cyst correlated well with the improvement of disturbed consciousness. An operation was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was craniopharyngioma. It is believed that the shrinkage of the cyst seen in the present case was caused by spontaneous rupture of the cyst wall. Spontaneous rupture of the cyst wall in cases of craniopharyngioma is extremely rare. Only 6 cases have been reported including 2 in which shrinkage of the cystic craniopharyngioma was confirmed.