Concomitant Bihemispheric Cerebral Ganglioglioma and Hemangioma in an 18-Month-Old Child: Case Report

This is a rare case of concomitant bihemispheric cerebral ganglioglioma and hemangioma in an 18-month-old child. There were two identical processes; a combination of ganglioglioma and hemangioma was located in the parieto-occipital region of both cerebral hemispheres. The child underwent diagnostic computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging examinations for seizures and right-sided facial palsy, which showed the bilateral presence of parieto-occipital, oval, well-demarcated, subcortically located processes. A biparieto-occipital craniotomy was carried out and two well-demarcated abnormalities were observed and both were removed in toto. Two years after the operation, the boy had normal psychomotor development and remained free from seizures with no therapy required. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging showed no tumor recurrence. Gangliogliomas are relatively uncommon tumors in childhood, located in the supratentorial compartment and usually associated with seizures. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of the two processes found in our patient showed them to be a ganglioglioma and a hemangioma, confirming the dysontogenetic origin of these alterations and the association between malformations and tumor growth. The combination of ganglioglioma and hemangioma, especially bilateral presentation of two such identical processes in a young child, is very rare and was not found in the recent literature. ( J Child Neurol 2000;15:244-248).