Heading injury precipitating subdural hematoma associated with arachnoid cysts--two case reports.

A 14-year-old boy and a 11-year-old boy presented with subdural hematomas as complications of preexisting arachnoid cysts in the middle cranial fossa, manifesting as symptoms of raised intracranial pressure. Both had a history of heading the ball in a soccer game about 7 weeks and 2 days before the symptom occurred. There was no other head trauma, so these cases could be described as "heading injury." Arachnoid cysts in the middle cranial fossa are often associated with subdural hematomas. We emphasize that mild trauma such as heading of the ball in a soccer game may cause subdural hematomas in patients with arachnoid cysts.