A Rare Case of Ecchordosis Physaliphora Presenting With Headache, Abducens Nerve Palsy, and Intracranial Hypertension

Abstract

We report a rare case of ecchordosis physaliphora presenting with headache, nausea, and diplopia. On neurological examination, the patient was found to have left abducens nerve palsy. CT of the head without contrast was unremarkable. Brain MRI demonstrated a non-enhancing retroclival mass with a mass effect upon the ventral pons. The mass had increased signal intensity on T2 and decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted sequences. Lumbar puncture revealed an opening pressure of 37 cm H2O. The patient underwent an endoscopic endonasal approach for retroclival mass resection three weeks later. The tissue analysis of the mass was consistent with ecchordosis physaliphora. This could have been misdiagnosed as idiopathic intracranial hypertension had the MRI of the brain not been performed.