Headache for many years, went to the doctor and discovered a meningioma bigger than an egg

Through medical history, the patient's family said that the above symptoms had lasted for many years. At first, the patient only had a headache and fatigue. After going to the doctor, he was given pain medication and sent home to rest. This time, the patient not only had a headache, but also felt weak on the left side of his body, lethargic, and had poor communication. The patient had been treated at several other hospitals but did not improve, so he came to Trung Vuong Hospital for examination.

On May 26, Dr. Nguyen Hien Nhan (Neurosurgery specialist, Trung Vuong Hospital) said that through examination, the patient had a headache and weakness on the left side of the body. The diagnosis revealed a large meningioma in the right temporal region, with many blood vessels feeding the tumor.

The patient then underwent preoperative testing to plan surgery to remove the tumor. However, during the preparation, the doctors discovered that the patient had coronary artery disease, so he had to be consulted again by cardiologists.

Before surgery, the doctors assessed that the meningioma had too many blood vessels supplying it, so they had to consult with a specialist in Endovascular Intervention (DSA). The embolization of the tumor's blood vessels to limit bleeding during surgery was performed.

The patient then underwent surgery to remove the entire tumor. Nine days after surgery, the patient regained consciousness, was no longer paralyzed, and was able to function normally.

Đau đầu nhiều năm, đi khám bác sĩ khối u màng não to hơn quả trứng - Ảnh 1. — X-ray image shows meningioma

Dr. Nguyen Hien Nhan, MD, said that meningiomas are usually benign tumors, accounting for about 14.3% to 19% of primary tumors in the skull. The incidence is highest at age 45; the rate of women is higher than men. Meningiomas occur in children and adolescents, accounting for about 1.5% (usually from 10 to 20 years old). Benign meningiomas often have a slow growth rate, lasting for many years. Therefore, when having symptoms of prolonged headaches, patients should go to hospitals that can diagnose brain tumors, and should also clearly describe their medical condition so that the doctor can have a reasonable treatment direction.

Most benign meningiomas have a good prognosis after complete surgical removal of the tumor. However, early detection and intervention will make surgery much simpler, because in cases where it is left untreated for too long, the tumor becomes large and the blood vessel system that feeds the tumor has developed complicatedly.

"In the above case, the tumor was very large because the patient's illness had been going on for a long time without being detected. Therefore, during surgery, the team needed the cooperation of an endovascular interventionist to block the dense blood vessels before removing the tumor. This helps the surgery to be safer and has a higher success rate," said Dr. Nhan.

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