does anyone know the consequences of a benign arachnoid cyst? Is it life threating? is surgery recommended?

Answer 1

Do you mean colloid cyst? If so no treatment is required unless it starts to dilate the ventricles with hydrocephalus, and then surgery is required.

Answer 2

I am going to go with what you stated which is an "Arachnoid Cyst" this would be a cyst in the Arachnoid mater immediately covering the brain. I have never heard of this condition occurring but that is not to say it couldn't occur. It would depend on the rate of growth of the cyst. If the rate of growth were great enough it could cause pressure on the portion of the brain it lay over. I will make the assumption that if the cyst were over a major blood vessel it could eventually produce enough pressure that it could compromise the blood flow in that vessel.

Here is the write-up from wikipedia:

Arachnoid cyst

Arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid-filled sacs that may develop between the surface of the brain and the cranial base or on the arachnoid membrane - one of the 3 membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. Most cases begin during infancy, however onset may be delayed until adolescence. Symptoms of an arachnoid cyst are related to the cyst size and location. Small cysts are usually asymptomatic and are discovered only incidentally. Large cysts may cause cranial deformation or macrocephaly (enlargement of the head), producing such symptoms as headaches, seizures, hydrocephalus (excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid), increased intracranial pressure, developmental delay, and behavioral changes. Other symptoms may include hemiparesis (weakness or paralysis on one side of the body) and ataxia (lack of muscle control). Arachnoid cysts most often occur in males.

Treatment

Treatment for arachnoid cysts is symptomatic. When symptoms warrant, the surgical placement of a shunt may be required to decompress (remove pressure from) the cyst.

Other treaments are available also. Drainage by needle aspiration or burr hole drainage, which are relatively simple, but there is a high incidence of recurrence. Then there is Craniotomy with excision of the cyst wall and fenestration of the cyst into normal communication with CSF pathways. This is invasive surgery, but may make the shunt unneccesary.

Prognosis

Untreated, arachnoid cysts may cause permanent severe neurological damage due to the progressive expansion of the cyst(s)or hemorrhage (bleeding). With treatment most individuals with arachnoid cysts do well.

Answer 3

It can be life threatening. It depends on where it's putting pressure on the brain. My son had one the size of a grapefruit two years ago, pushing most of the left side of his brain into the right side of his cranium. He had surgery for it. It would have continued to grow - it was also causing too much shifting of the brain. He could have had an aneurysm or a stroke if we had not had it corrected. Your neurosurgeon/neurologist should be able to accurately tell you how bad it is.

Answer 4

benign means the cyst itself is not lifethreatening
but cysts are bad and should be removed
and surgery can always have adverse effects