Get a Group Membership for your Organization. Free Trial
Pricing
Free TrialLogin

Leptomeningeal Metastases

HIDE
PrevNext

0:00

So this patient presented with multiple

0:04

cranial neuropathies on the left side,

0:06

which included hearing loss but

0:09

also difficulty swallowing,

0:11

suggesting that there was a 9th and 10th nerve palsy

0:14

as well. So let's take a look at the top left image.

0:17

So this is the heavily T2-weighted image.

0:20

And again,

0:20

I'm going to draw my line down the middle.

0:23

And again,

0:23

one of the things that I always do on my head and

0:25

neck case, I draw my line down the middle,

0:27

and I compare one side to the opposite side.

0:30

Now, this patient's symptoms were on the left side,

0:32

so I'm really looking for pathology.

0:34

So let's analyze this image.

0:36

Heavily T2-weighted image

0:38

has cranial neuropathies.

0:39

So here's our Porus Acusticus

0:41

on the uninvolved side.

0:43

And now I can see this nerve

0:45

here and this nerve here.

0:47

And as I follow it through the Porus Acusticus,

0:49

I can see nice, clear CSF.

0:53

Now let's take a look on the symptomatic side,

0:55

I can see this nerve, which is anteriorly,

0:58

which is going into the cochlea.

0:59

So that's a cochlear nerve.

1:01

And if I'm at the level of the cochlear nerve,

1:03

then I have to be at the level of

1:04

the inferior vestibular nerve.

1:06

So in the fungus of the internal auditory canal,

1:09

I can see those two nerves.

1:10

But as I extend more medially,

1:13

all of a sudden I see this mass right here,

1:16

which I cannot explain.

1:18

It's too high to be the flocculus,

1:21

and there should be nothing extending into

1:23

the Porus Acusticus at this level.

1:25

If I look at the lower image,

1:26

this is a non-contrast T1-weighted image.

1:29

Maybe with a leap of faith,

1:31

I see a little bit of mass right here.

1:33

It's hard to say, but when we give contrast,

1:35

there's clearly a mass here that's involving

1:38

the left cerebellopontine angle,

1:40

but does not extend through the Porus Acusticus,

1:43

nor does it have the dural tail.

1:45

So this particular case,

1:46

it doesn't have the dural tail.

1:48

It's extending medial to the porus acusticus,

1:51

so it's probably not a vestibular schwannoma.

1:54

So now I have to think,

1:55

what are the things that could arise in the

1:58

cerebellopontine angle that do not have a dural

2:01

tail that are not extending into the internal

2:04

auditory canal that are extra-axial?

2:07

So I have to think of various things.

2:09

So one of the things I look for when I'm looking at

2:12

the CP angle or any mass that I'm not sure of is,

2:16

are there multiple lesions? So at this level,

2:19

we're at the level of the internal auditory canal.

2:21

Once we go lower into the midbrain, again,

2:24

I'm going to draw my line down the middle

2:26

and compare one side to the other side.

2:29

The patient's symptoms run their left side.

2:31

So when I start looking at the left side,

2:33

I see these two little lines right here.

2:35

And these two little lines correspond

2:37

to the lines on the left side.

2:39

And this is the 9th and 10th nerve complex extending

2:42

into the jugular foramen. And just anterior medial,

2:46

we can see this enhancing mass that

2:49

is abutting these various nerves.

2:52

So now I'm dealing with two lesions.

2:54

And then if I look even a little bit closer,

2:57

there's another area right here of enhancement.

3:00

That's involving the leptomeninges of the medulla.

3:04

So now, all of a sudden,

3:05

I have three focal areas of enhancement.

3:09

One at the level of the internal auditory canal,

3:12

another one adjacent to the left

3:14

9th and 10th nerve complex,

3:16

and a third area of enhancement along the

3:18

leptomeninges adjacent to the medulla.

3:21

So when I have multiple enhancing lesions in the

3:25

posterior fossa, the diagnosis is more than likely

3:30

leptomeningeal metastases.

Report

Faculty

Suresh K Mukherji, MD, FACR, MBA

Clinical Professor, University of Illinois & Rutgers University. Faculty, Michigan State University. Director Head & Neck Radiology, ProScan Imaging

Tags

Neuroradiology

Neuro

Neoplastic

MRI

Brain

© 2024 MRI Online. All Rights Reserved.

Contact UsTerms of UsePrivacy Policy