The Child's Craniopharyngiomas About 11 Cases and Review of the Literature

Craniopharyngioma is a benign and rare intracranial tumor. In children, the clinic is characterized by the semiological, neurological, ophthalmological, and endocrine tripod. Medical imaging, represented by computed tomography (CT) and especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has revolutionized the approach to the diagnosis of the latter. It has a slow evolution and likely to recur late. Thus, prolonged clinical-radiological follow-up is important to affirm a cure. The aim of this study is to highlight the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary characteristics of craniopharyngiomas in children. This work consisted of a retrospective study of 11 pediatric cases of this tumor collected in the Neurosurgery Department of the IBN ROCHD University Hospital in Casablanca between January 2011 and January 2017. In this series, the child's craniopharyngiomas accounted for a rate of 45.8% of all these tumors. The average age of our patients was 9.09 years, with a sex ratio of 0.37. The average time to diagnose was 10 months. The picture was dominated by 100% visual disturbances, signs of intracranial hypertension at 63.63% and endocrine disorders at 36.36%. The lesion was intra and suprasellar seat in 91% of cases and suprasellar seat in 9%. Tumor size was less than 4cm in 54.53% of cases. Hydrocephalus is observed in 27.27% of cases. The fronto-pterrional modus operandi was the most used 72% of cases. Total exeresis was achieved in 9.1% of cases. Overall trends were favorable in 72% of cases without noting mortality. Tumor progressive recovery was observed in 9.1% of cases, but there were no recurrences. Given its location, the treatment of craniopharyngioma can lead to significant consequences in children affecting the long-term quality of life, hence the importance of post-operative follow-up and multidisciplinary management.