Presentation
Dizziness, disorientation and vertigo of acute onset
Patient Data
A well defined small extra axial mass is seen at the left cerebellopontine angle cistern just posterior to Meckel's cave at the location of the left trigeminal nerve. The lesion is hypointense on T1, slightly hyperintese on T2 with moderate enhancement on post contrast scan.
The contralateral trigeminal nerve is normal for comparison. Moreover, the patient had left paramedian tiny focus of acute pontine infarction that shows restriction on DWI.
Case Discussion
Trigeminal schwannoma is an extra axial tumor arises from the schwann cell lining of the trigeminal nerve.
SSFP sequences now provide detailed anatomy of the cranial nerves and the adjacent CSF cisterns.
Unfortunately the lesion wasn't excised and no pathological confirmation was available at time of publishing.