Pineal Cyst

[Alicia]

My 5-year-old son was just diagnosed with a pineal cyst on MRI. It is 10mm in size and causing mild flattening on the tectal plate. He has been complaining of headaches for a long time. And a few months ago would wake up in the middle of the night and vomit.

What do they do for this? Can it cause future problems? Is this something to be concerned about?

Thanks,

[Dr. Joshua]

Hi Alicia, thanks for your question. You need to talk to a neurosurgeon about this. I cannot give you an answer because pineal cysts are treated on a case-by-case basis. There is no universal rule for what to do when a pineal cyst is found.

Generally speaking, pineal cysts can be either followed or operated. Some factors favor surgical treatment. Such factors may include the following: headache that is attributed to the pineal cyst (headache and vomiting can be caused by a pineal cyst compressing the surrounding tissues), other neurological symptoms that are caused by the cyst, such as visual disturbances or loss of upward gaze due to tectal plate compression, hydrocephalus (build-up of fluid in the brain) due to a large cyst occluding the natural fluid flow, or uncertainty of the nature of the cyst (the need to acquire a tissue sample).

These are some of the considerations that your neurosurgeon will take into account when determining the treatment course in your son's case. Please keep us posted on how things go.