Ultrastructure of the wall of the Dandy-Walker cyst. A case report.

The ultrastructure of the wall of the Dandy-Walker cyst has been described rarely. A boy aged 2 years was confirmed clinically, neuroradiologically, and operatively as having a Dandy-Walker cyst in the posterior fossa. The cyst wall obtained during surgery consisted of an outer arachnoid cell layer, intermediate interwoven neurological strands, and an inner layer of cells which lacked the characteristic appearance of ependyma. An unusual finding was a small, buried island of ependymal cells in the intermediate layer of the neuroglial tissue. Ultrastructural study of the cyst wall provides a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the Dandy-Walker syndrome.