Intracranial arachnoid cysts in children.

The clinical and radiographic findings, surgical treatment, and outcome in 16 pediatric patients with intracranial arachnoid cysts are reviewed. The clinical presentation reflected the anatomical location of the lesions. Computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans were diagnostic in all cases. Of the nine cysts treated primarily or secondarily by craniotomy for fenestration and drainage into the basilar cisterns, five recurred. Cyst-peritoneal shunting led to diminished cyst size and clinical improvement in all seven cases in which it was used as the initial treatment and in all four cases in which fenestration had been unsuccessful. The results in this series show that cyst-peritoneal shunting is the treatment of choice for most intracranial arachnoid cysts in children.