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Differentiating imaging findings in primary and secondary tumors of the jugular foramen

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Abstract

The preoperative diagnosis of a jugular foramen tumor may be challenging, since a large variety of unusual lesions may be located in this region. These tumors may be classified as primary lesions (which are located in the jugular foramen or extend from the jugular foramen into the surrounding structures) and as secondary lesions (that extend from the surrounding structures into the jugular foramen). Primary tumors include glomus jugulare tumors, schwannomas, meningiomas and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors, while secondary tumors comprise chordomas, chondrosarcomas, chondroblastomas, giant-cell tumors, cholesterol granulomas, giant cholesterol cyst, endolymphatic sac tumors, reactive myofibroblastic tumors, temporal bone carcinomas and metastases. Accurate preoperative radiological suspicion is of great value for preoperative patient counseling and has a direct impact on the surgical planning in these cases. The present study describes and discusses the main differentiating imaging features of lesions involving the jugular foramen, whose accurate preoperative radiological evaluation is essential for proper surgical planning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Hubert Löwenheim

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Andrei Koerbel, Florian H. Ebner & Marcos Tatagiba

  3. Department of Otolaryngology, Nagasaki University, Sakamoto Nagasaki, Japan

    Hidetaka Kumagami

  4. Department of Neuroradiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    Ulrike Ernemann

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  1. Hubert Löwenheim
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  2. Andrei Koerbel
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  3. Florian H. Ebner
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  4. Hidetaka Kumagami
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  5. Ulrike Ernemann
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  6. Marcos Tatagiba
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Correspondence to Andrei Koerbel.

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Commentaries on this paper are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10143-005-0421-6 and http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10143-005-0422-5

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Löwenheim, H., Koerbel, A., Ebner, F.H. et al. Differentiating imaging findings in primary and secondary tumors of the jugular foramen. Neurosurg Rev 29, 1–11 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-005-0420-7

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