Cavernous Angioma of the Cerebellopontine Angle

Abstract

Cavernous angiomas within the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) and internal auditory canal (IAC) are uncommon vascular lesions. To date, fewer than 70 histologically proven cases are reported in the literature. The majority of these lesions are believed to arise from the dural vascular plexus. A small subset of cavernous angiomas originates from the vascular plexus of the vestibulocochlear nerve and, less commonly, the facial nerve. In this report, we present the case of a pathology-proven cavernous angioma likely arising from the cisternal segment of the facial nerve causing vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction. We then review reports in the literature of cavernous angiomas within the CPA and IAC.