Giant hypothalamic hamartoma associated with an intracranial cyst in a newborn

Abstract

We report the case of a giant hypothalamic hamartoma with a large intracranial cyst in a neonate. On ultrasonography, the lesion presented as a lobulated, mass-like lesion with similar echogenicity to the adjacent brain parenchyma, located anterior to the underdeveloped and compressed left temporal lobe, and presenting as an intracranial cyst in the left cerebral convexity without definite internal echogenicity or septa. The presence of a hypothalamic hamartoma and intracranial neurenteric cyst were confirmed by surgical biopsy. The association of a giant hypothalamic hamartoma and a neurenteric cyst is rare. Due to the rarity of this association, the large size of the intracranial cyst, and the resulting distortion in the regional anatomy, the diagnosis of the solid mass was not made correctly on prenatal high-resolution ultrasonography.