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Dermoid Cysts of the Anterior Fontanel in Adults

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Dermoid cysts of anterior fontanel in adults are rare. These are benign cystic lesions that occur at lines of fusion in the body. Dermoid cysts of the scalp including at… Click to show full abstract

Dermoid cysts of anterior fontanel in adults are rare. These are benign cystic lesions that occur at lines of fusion in the body. Dermoid cysts of the scalp including at the anterior fontanel in infants and small children have been reported in the literature.[1‐3] But not many reports exist on this condition in adults. Here, we present three adults who presented with this condition. The first patient was a 27‐year‐old young man who noticed this swelling about 7 years before. He noticed this when he started getting hurt while combing his hair. Clinical examination [Figure 1] revealed a well‐rounded swelling of about 3 cm × 3 cm size in the region of the anterior fontanel. There were no visible pulsations, any sinus tract or punctum or dilated veins seen. On examination, the lesion had heterogeneous consistency with some areas soft and cystic. It was nontender and nonpulsatile and did not give a cough impulse. Transillumination was not present and there was no bruit on auscultation. The bony margins were felt to be inverted. The next patient was an 18‐year‐old boy who underwent tonsuring of the head and noticed the swelling of around 1.5 cm with a punctum. The other findings were similar. There was no discharge from the punctum. In this 22‐year‐old young female, the beautician noticed this swelling with similar findings but no punctum. All the patients underwent computed tomography (CT) scans which showed no intracranial extension in any case. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done in all cases and intracranial extensions were ruled out. All the patients underwent total excision of the lesion. During surgery, the lesions had hair and calcified portions and one of the swellings showed rudimentary teeth. There was some erosion of the outer table in one case (the young man), but there was no breach of the inner table in any of the cases. The histopathological report in all cases was dermoid cyst. Dermoid cysts in the head and neck are usually considered congenital lesions. However, occasionally, these lesions have been identified in adults also. The importance of dermoids in the scalp is the potential for intracranial extension. Here, we describe three adults with histologically proved dermoid cysts in the anterior fontanel region without any intracranial extension.

Keywords: anterior fontanel; noticed swelling; cysts anterior; dermoid cysts; fontanel adults; year old

Journal Title: Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice
Year Published: 2018

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