Postoperative spinal recurrence of craniopharyngioma.

PURPOSE: Remote recurrence of craniopharyngioma is an unusual postoperative complication. It occurs either along a previous surgical route or by seeding via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

METHODS: A 49-year-old male had been operated on twice for a suprasellar craniopharyngioma in September 1999 and February 2003. From August 2003, he noted progressive low-back pain followed by ischialgia along the right S1 dermatome, which was symptomatic of an intradural tumor at the level of the first sacral segment.

RESULTS: Total resection was performed and the tumor was histologically confirmed to be an adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma.

CONCLUSIONS: We report the first case of remote spinal recurrence of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. No growth hormone therapy was administered to this patient. One must bear in mind this rare complication in craniopharyngioma patients and underline the importance of long-term follow-up.