Spontaneous symptomatic orbital meningoencephalocele in an adult patient. Case report and review of the literature

• Published in: Journal of clinical neuroscience Vol. 77; pp. 224 - 226
• Main Authors: Zurita, Marco, Candanedo, Carlos, Moscovici, Samuel, Kaye, Andrew H., Spektor, Sergey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2020
• Subjects: Adult; Blepharocele; CSF leak; Meningoencephalocele; Orbital roof; CSF leak; Adult; Blepharocele; Meningoencephalocele; Orbital roof
• ISSN: 0967-5868; 1532-2653
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.05.020

•Symptomatic spontaneous meningoencephalocele (MEC) is very rare in adults.•Cases of MEC through the orbital roof have not been report in literature.•We present a case of orbital roof MEC in an adult female with blepharocele.
Symptomatic spontaneous meningoencephalocele (MEC) is a very rare entity in adults and there have been no reported cases of spontaneous MEC through the orbital roof in an adult. We report a 41-year-old woman who presented with a left eyelid swelling for several weeks without any history of trauma. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a MEC through the orbital roof causing a significant blepharocele in this young patient. Supraorbital craniotomy was performed to repair the bone defect. The symptoms resolved immediately after surgery. Even though blepharocele is a rare manifestation of spontaneous orbital MEC it should be considered in the differential diagnosis for appropriate surgical management.