My child has been diagnosed as having a possible craniopharyngioma; what diagnostic tests should be carried out?
When some children with large craniopharyngiomas are initially diagnosed, they may be quite ill with increased pressure in their brain, and there really is not much time to do any special additional diagnostic testing; in this case, surgery must be carried out rapidly to reduce the brain pressure. If time is available, however, there are some tests that are helpful to the treating physicians. We believe it is worthwhile to get a standard CT scan of the brain to determine the extent of the calcium build-up within the tumor. Calcium deposits, which are not seen well on MRI, often denote areas of the tumor that may be difficult to remove and knowing location of these areas can help the surgeon plan the operation more effectively. We like to obtain endocrinologic and ophthalmologic evaluations before the surgery, since baseline evaluations of both of these areas of body function can help to predict post-operative problems and suggest management strategies to the neurosurgeon, anesthesiolog
When some children with large craniopharyngiomas are initially diagnosed, they may be quite ill with increased pressure in their brain and there really is not much time to do any special additional diagnostic testing. In this case, surgery must be carried out rapidly to reduce the brain pressure. If time is available, however, there are some tests that are helpful to the treating physicians. We believe it is worthwhile to get a standard CT scan of the brain to determine the extent of the calcium build-up within the tumor. Calcium deposits, which are not seen well on MRI, often denote areas of the tumor that may be difficult to remove and knowing location of these areas can help the surgeon plan the operation more effectively. We like to obtain endocrinologic and ophthalmologic evaluations before the surgery, since baseline evaluations of both of these areas of body function can help to predict post-operative problems and suggest management strategies to the neurosurgeon, anesthesiologi
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