A Case of Cerebellar Mutism after Posterior Fossa Surgery

Cerebellar mutism consisting of disruption speech output, hypotonia, ataxia, and emotional lability occurs after surgery for posterior fossa tumors. Although the mutism is transient, speech rarely normalizes and this condition is associated with adverse neurological, cognitive and psychiatric abnormalities. Possible mechanisms for its etiology include direct injury from surgical trauma, vasospasm, edema and hydrocephalus causing delayed injury to the cerebellar vermis, brainstem and dentate nuclei. In this study, the case of an adolescent patient, who had an astrocytoma and showed symptoms of cerebellar mutism, apathy, ataxi, hemiparesis and visual impairment after posterior fossa surgery, is presented. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2012; 49: 320-322)