Correspondence

Unexpected death after headache due to a colloid cyst of the third ventricle

Sameer S Shaktawat¹ , Walid D Salman² , Zuhair Twaij² and Abdul Al-Dawoud²

¹Department of Cellular Pathology, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, Lancashire, UK

²Department of Histopathology, Burnley General Hospital, Burnley, Lancashire, UK

author email corresponding author email

World Journal of Surgical Oncology 2006, 4:47doi:10.1186/1477-7819-4-47

Published:	25 July 2006

Abstract

Background

Colloid cysts of the third ventricle are rare benign intracranial non-neoplastic cysts. Headache is the most common symptom. We present a case of sudden death due to colloid cyst in a 17 year old female who had symptoms of intermittent headaches.

Case presentation

A 17 year old female presented with intermittent mild headaches for a period of two years. She complained of severe headache in the night and was found unresponsive the next morning. Resuscitation team was called on site but the patient was already dead. At post mortem examination a dilated ventricular system was found with a colloid cyst of the third ventricle.

Conclusion

This report highlights the difficulty in the diagnosis and importance of recognizing colloid cyst of the third ventricle which should be in the differential diagnosis of headaches in children and young adults and of hydrocephalus at autopsy