Surgical resection of thalamic tumors: a report of four cases

Thalamic tumors (TTs) are rare which represent about 4% of all brain tumors. CASE: The present study reports four cases of TTs Of which 3 cases were male and 1 female, aged 10 to 20 years (mean age= 14.2 years). Symptoms of raised intracranial pressure (75%), and hemiparesis (50%) were the most frequent manifestations in our TTs patients. All patients had a low-grade glioma. All cases were operated through transcortical or transsylvian-transinsular approaches. Gross-total resection was accomplished in 3 patients and subtotal resection (STR) in 1. Although hydrocephalus was frequent, only 2 patients required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement. After the follow-up period (average time of 12 months, range 3–24 months), adjuvant therapy was not administered for our patients. At the last clinical visit, 4 patients were alive, of which 3 cases showed the normal neurological examination results. The outcomes for the remaining patients were classified as mild (n=3) and moderate disability (n=1). KEYWORDS: Brain tumors, Thalamic Tumors, Surgery