Pediatric Meningeal Tumors of the Sylvian Fissure Region without Dural Attachment: A Series of Three Patients and Review of the Literature

Pediatric meningeal tumors are rare, but those in the region of the sylvian fissure without dural attachment are extremely rare, with only 24 previously reported cases in the world literature. In this series, we report two additional cases of sylvian fissure meningioma without dural attachment and one case of perisylvian meningioangiomatosis in the medial temporal lobe. All three patients presented with complex partial seizures, but the diagnosis was delayed in each case because the symptoms were misinterpreted to be behavioral rather than epileptic. The seizures were eventually confirmed with electroencephalogram, and subsequent imaging showed enhancing masses within the sylvian fissure region that were at least partially calcified in all three cases. Each patient underwent craniotomy. In the first case, gross total resection was achieved, and in the second case, a small residual portion of tumor was densely calcified and adherent to the middle cerebral artery branches. Both of these were World Health Organization (WHO) grade I meningiomas. The third patient underwent biopsy and limited resection of meningioangiomatosis. No dural attachments were noted in any of the tumors, but one of the meningiomas was intraparenchymal in location, surrounding the sylvian fissure in both the frontal and temporal lobes, which has been described in only a small number of these cases previously. The patients underwent pre- and postsurgical neuropsychiatric testing and did not experience any significant cognitive deficits. At 10-year follow-up, the patient who had gross total resection of the tumor has had no recurrence and is seizure-free without anticonvulsant medications. The incompletely resected intraparenchymal meningioma in the second patient recurred after 5 years, however, and at repeat surgery was found to have transformed to a WHO grade II tumor. Radiation therapy was delivered and the tumor has been stable for 2 years, but the patient continues to have occasional seizures despite medication. The patient with meningioangiomatosis has had no further growth and has excellent control of seizures but remains on medication. We review the clinical presentation of these rare tumors and discuss the treatment, outcomes, and possible relationship of meningiomas to meningioangiomatosis.