Volume 189 - Issue 7
Severe bilateral papilloedema secondary to a large primary brain tumour
Authors: Vivek B Pandya, Neil S Sharma, Peter Khong and John Males
Med J Aust 2008; 189 (7): 413. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb02099.x
Published online: 6 October 2008
Published online: 6 October 2008
A 21-year-old, otherwise well man presented with a 3-month history of bilateral deteriorating vision. His visual acuity was 6/60 on the left and 6/12 on the right. Fundus examination revealed bilateral papilloedema, with optic discs grossly swollen and bulging forward (Figure: A, left eye; B, right eye). There were bilateral haemorrhages of the retinal nerve fibre layer surrounding the disc, and macular folds (Figure, arrows). An urgent computed tomography scan revealed a 5.8 cm × 5.3 cm mass in the inferior right frontal lobe, with cystic and necrotic components. The patient was referred for urgent surgical debulking. Histopathological examination of the mass confirmed that it was a high-grade anaplastic astrocytoma.
