Infantile Dermoid Cyst in the Lateral Wall of the Cavernous Sinus: A Case Report and Literature Review

Dermoid tumors originating from the cavernous sinus are typically intradural, and thus, presentation with ophthalmoplegia is uncommon. Infantile dermoid tumors originating from the interdural space of the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus are also very rare. We herein present a 4-year-old infantile case of a dermoid cyst that was embedded in the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus. The patient presented with oculomotor nerve palsy. Magnetic resonance image demonstrated a well-circumscribed oval lesion inside the lateral wall of the left cavernous sinus. The lesion had two solid components that were hyperintense on T1- and T2-weighted images and was associated with a cystic mass that included fluid with the same signal intensity as cerebrospinal fluid. Gross total removal via a frontotemporal approach was performed. The symptoms markedly recovered in the 6-month follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, there have only been two reports of infantile dermoid cysts in the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus. We herein describe their clinical characteristics with the previous review and introduce surgical tips for the resection.