Surgical Management of Intracranial Giant Epidermoid Cysts in Adult: A Case-Based Update

Epidermoid cysts (ECs) are benign and slow-growing lesions that account for about 0.2%–2% of all intracranial tumors. Symptoms appear slowly and tumors may have already grown to giant proportions when patients receive their first diagnosis. The optimal treatment for ECs is surgical removal, which includes the total resection of the entire capsule of the lesion in order to minimize the risk of malignant transformation associated with partial removal. However, considering the giant size that the ECs can reach at the time of the diagnosis, and their adherence to the surrounding structures, the risks and benefits of total versus subtotal resections in the short- and long-term patients’ outcome are still under debate. Here, we report a case of an extensive giant EC and offer a discussion of its characteristics, surgical management, and postoperative outcome, taking a cue to argue about the recent literature based in the latest case studies.