Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with seizures had successful surgery to remove brain dermoid cyst
By Nakano, Yukiko et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Neurosurgery, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Case report: Successful surgical resection of an intracranial frontal lobe dermoid cyst in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old spayed female American Shorthair cat was brought in for frequent epileptic seizures, which had worsened after changing her medication due to a liver issue. Despite being on multiple antiseizure medications, she was having cluster seizures more than three times a day. An MRI revealed a dermoid cyst in her brain, and after surgically removing the cyst, her seizures completely stopped. Remarkably, she remained seizure-free for 14 months after the surgery, even after stopping her medications.
People also search for: cat seizures treatment · cat brain cyst surgery · why is my cat having seizures
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Intracranial dermoid cysts (IDCs) are rarely observed in veterinary medicine, and reports regarding treatment strategies for feline IDCs are severely lacking. This report describes the surgical management of epileptic seizures caused by IDCs in a cat. CASE PRESENTATION: An 8-year-old, spayed, female American Shorthair cat presented with epileptic seizures. The epileptic seizures, which had developed at the age of 5 years, had been controlled by phenobarbital administration. At 8 years old, the cat contracted acute hepatitis, prompting a switch from phenobarbital to other antiseizure medications. This drug switch caused an increase in the frequency of epileptic seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a dermoid cyst as a heterogeneous intensity mass on T2-weighted images, without falx cerebri displacement. The preoperative seizures occurred more than three times a day (cluster seizures), even though the cat was administered multiple antiseizure medications. The seizures ceased after surgical removal of the dermoid cyst. The cat did not experience seizures for 14 months after surgery, even with discontinuation of antiseizure medications. CONCLUSION: In cats, surgical removal of frontal lobe IDCs may effectively control epileptic seizures without fatal complications, thus potentially leading to a great prognosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40027356/