Li Wen-yan, Ma Lu, Liu Jian, Yang Hua, Mao Qing
Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, People's Republic of China.
Childs Nerv Syst. 2011 Apr;27(4):517-21. doi: 10.1007/s00381-011-1389-x. Epub 2011 Jan 26.
We report a case of melanotic medulloblastoma in a child. Reviewing the literature, we discuss the characteristics, therapeutic method, and prognosis of melanotic medulloblastoma in children.
A 2-year-old girl was admitted with a mass located in the pineal region and presented obstructive hydrocephalus. The mass was subtotally resected through a slit-corpus-fornix approach. Thereafter, intraoperative direct third ventriculostomy was performed. The histopathological diagnosis of the mass suggested melanotic medulloblastoma.
The MRI done at 4 days after surgery showed that the lateral ventricle normalized and the hydrocephalus was resolved. Thereafter, the patient underwent a Gamma Knife. The patient recovered well during the 8-month follow-up.
Melanotic medulloblastoma is a malignant tumor of childhood. It usually occurs at young age and might involve the vermis cerebelli, the fourth ventricle, and the pineal region. Surgery combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is recommended for children. But, it still requires observation to determine their long-term prognosis.
