Hi there,

I’m very thankful a site like this exists.

This is my first time posting. I would like to introduce my case to all of you and also get some opinions. I am 26 year old caucasian male living in the Bay Area, California.

On 7/29/09 I experienced painful headaches. A CT scan at the doctor’s revealed a tumor in the pineal region of my brain, and thus it was the reason for the mild hydrocephalus. An additional contrast MRI and Profusion MRI taken the same day showed a 2.5x2.5 pineal tumor that involved the quadrigeminal plate and extends into the thalami bilaterally. Three days after the headaches, all headache symptoms disappeared. It is now 8/27/09, and I still have not experienced any headaches or vision problems.

I have consulted with two Neurosurgeons thus far (Stanford and UCSF). Since I have been doing a lot of travelling in South East Asia for work the last few years, the Stanford Neurosurgeon thought there is a chance that the lesion is Cystercercosis, but a blood test for it came out negative. The next thing the Stanford doctor recommended was a third ventriculoscopy to take care of the supposed hydrocephalus and then a suboccipital craniotomy for a biopsy and potential resection.

I decided on moving on to UCSF for treatment since they have 5x more traffic for neurosurgery than any other hospital on the west coast and they are ranked #3 by USnews. The doctor at UCSF also recommended the same thing after reviewing the 7/29 MRI: third ventriculoscopy & suboccipital craniotomy. The third ventriculoscopy is now scheduled for 9/3/09 with an MRI on 9/2/09.

The really bizarre thing is that I am no longer experiencing symptoms that would relate to obstructive hydrocephalus and I am not taking any medication. It has been almost a month now! I feel completley normal. I would like to avoid doing the third ventriculoscopy and just move on to the craniotomy for biopsy and hopefully complete removal. Have you guys ever heard of hydrocephalus suddenly going away?

Should I ask the doctor to do one more MRI and space out the third ventriculoscopy surgery a few days later? If the new MRI shows no evidence of obstructive hydrocephalus and no enlarged ventricles, can the third ventriculostomy procedure be avoided?

In regards to pineal region tumors, are outcomes usually good?

Tumor notes: Blood tests for Alpha-fetoprotein and HCG shows to be within normal limits. Both doctors think this is some kind of germ cell tumor or pineocytoma, either benign or malignant.

Thanks!