Radiology, Vol 197, 497-499, Copyright © 1995 by Radiological Society of North America
Frontal foramina in pediatric skull in cases of congenital hydrocephalus
JK Sun, DR LeMay, WT Couldwell and C Zee
Department of Neuroradiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Hospital 90033, USA.
PURPOSE: To describe a new observation, frontal calvarial foramina, in
pediatric patients with congenital hydrocephalus secondary to central
nervous system malformation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Frontal foramina were
initially identified in three female patients with Chiari II malformation.
Subsequently, head computed tomographic (CT) scans in 99 patients with
congenital hydrocephalus were retrospectively reviewed. CT scans in a
control group of 116 patients without hydrocephalus were also
retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Frontal foramina were found in eight of
61 (13%) patients with Chiari II malformation, in one child with
Dandy-Walker malformation, and in one child with occipital horn dilatation
(colpocephaly), but not in control patients. Sequential CT examinations in
three patients with frontal foramina depicted gradual closure after
ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement. CONCLUSION: Frontal foramina may
represent an abnormality variably expressed in certain central nervous
system malformations that cause congenital hydrocephalus. The presence of
frontal foramina palpated or visualized on plain radiographs may help in
the diagnosis of congenital hydrocephalus and central nervous system
malformation.
