Papers of the Week

Colloid cysts are benign and rare tumors of the brain. The growth rates of these tumors are unpredictable. There have been many factors attributed for sudden symptomatic presentation in colloid cyst. These cysts can increase in size and obstruct the Cerebrospinal fluid pathways producing obstructive hydrocephalus. Consequently, this can manifest as acute severe headaches followed by deterioration in consciousness or even sudden death in patients. Sudden symptomatic presentation of patients with colloid cysts during air travel have been reported sparsely in the literature. In this report, we describe such a patient with colloid cyst who had acute severe headache and deterioration in consciousness during air travel. The physiologic effects of the cabin pressure and high altitude on the intracranial pressure is discussed along with review of literature.