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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-SASurgical neurology international

Atypical symptoms from a small occipital meningioma: A case report.

  1. 1Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
  2. 2Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
  3. 3Ophtalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract

Background

Meningiomas are typically slow-growing benign intracranial tumors, and symptomatic lesions smaller than 2 cm are uncommon, particularly in immunosuppressed patients, in whom primary central nervous system lymphoma may pose a diagnostic challenge.Case description

We report the case of a 39-year-old woman with a history of renal transplantation on immunosuppressive therapy who presented with recurrent headaches, bilateral visual blurring, visual illusions, and later generalized seizures. Ophthalmological assessment revealed a left homonymous hemianopsia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a small (1 cm) right occipital extra-axial lesion suggestive of meningioma. Because of her immunosuppressed status, cerebral lymphoma was also considered, since it has a similar morphology on MRI. A 5-day high-dose corticosteroid trial did not modify the lesion, supporting the diagnosis of meningioma.Conclusion

This case highlights the diagnostic challenges posed by atypical occipital meningiomas and emphasizes that even very small lesions may produce substantial neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations.

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BibTeX
@article{haddad2026atypical,
  title = {{Atypical symptoms from a small occipital meningioma: A case report.}},
  author = {Rita Haddad and Sana Chahine and Maria Saade and Antoine El Sett and Christian Matta},
  journal = {Surgical neurology international},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.25259/sni_1128_2026},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974549},
  note = {CC BY-NC-SA},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Atypical symptoms from a small occipital meningioma: A case report.
AU  - Rita Haddad
AU  - Sana Chahine
AU  - Maria Saade
AU  - Antoine El Sett
AU  - Christian Matta
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/30
JO  - Surgical neurology international
DO  - 10.25259/sni_1128_2026
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974549
AB  - Background  Meningiomas are typically slow-growing benign intracranial tumors, and symptomatic lesions smaller than 2 cm are uncommon, particularly in immunosuppressed patients, in whom primary central nervous system lymphoma may pose a diagnostic challenge.Case description  We report the case of a 39-year-old woman with a history of renal transplantation on immunosuppressive therapy who presented with recurrent headaches, bilateral visual blurring, visual illusions, and later generalized seizures. Ophthalmological assessment revealed a left homonymous hemianopsia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a small (1 cm) right occipital extra-axial lesion suggestive of meningioma. Because of her immunosuppressed status, cerebral lymphoma was also considered, since it has a similar morphology on MRI. A 5-day high-dose corticosteroid trial did not modify the lesion, supporting the diagnosis of meningioma.Conclusion  This case highlights the diagnostic challenges posed by atypical occipital meningiomas and emphasizes that even very small lesions may produce substantial neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations.
SN  - 2229-5097
SN  - 2152-7806
ER  -