• Kenji Yoshiki, Yasuo Sasagawa, Masashi Kinoshita, Takuya Furuta, Sho Tamai, Hemragul Sabit, Shingo Tanaka, and Mitsutoshi Nakada.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
• World Neurosurg. 2020 Jun 1; 138: 541-544.e1.

BackgroundSuperficial siderosis is an irreversible disease in the central nervous system caused by the deposition of hemosiderin in the subpial tissue due to persistent bleeding in the subarachnoid space. The main symptoms include sensorineural hearing loss, cerebellar ataxia, and pyramidal tract disorder. Superficial siderosis is mainly idiopathic, but bleeding factors such as tumors or history of surgery often play an important role in its pathogenesis.Case DescriptionA 66-year-old man with a history of surgery for a cerebellar tumor 37 years ago complained of hearing loss. Magnetic resonance imaging showed recurrence of the tumor on T2-weighted images and hypointense areas along the cerebellar sulci on T2∗-weighted images. During the operation, microscopic bleeding was observed on the surface of the tumor. The pathologic diagnosis was pilocytic astrocytoma. A biopsy obtained during the first surgery revealed almost the same pathologic findings as those from a biopsy obtained during the second surgery, but the first specimen showed no hemosiderin deposition or active bleeding, which the second specimen did show.ConclusionsRecurrent pilocytic astrocytoma with intratumoral hemorrhage was the suspected cause for superficial siderosis. The source of chronic bleeding was identified with intraoperative and pathologic findings. We describe the first report of superficial siderosis associated with a pilocytic astrocytoma that recurred 37 years after an initial tumor was excised.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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