Intrasellar arachnoid cyst: A case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Arachnoid cysts (ACs) are frequently found on intracranial imaging studies but intrasellar arachnoid cysts are rarely encountered. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present a 49-year old patient who had headaches for 6 months and cystic sellar mass was found in his cranial imaging. We operated him by transnasal transsphenoidal route. Our intraoperative diagnosis was an arachnoid cyst and pathologic studies verified our observation. He did well postoperatively and after a 1 year follow-up he was left free from future follow-ups. DISCUSSION: As common cystic lesions occupying the sellar region can simulate ACs both clinically and radiologically, neurosurgeon can fail to include ACs in making the initial diagnosis preoperatively. CONCLUSION: Although a rare entity, arachnoid cysts should be considered in the differential diagnosis of sellar region.