Lateral orientation of Rathke cleft cysts may be associated with high rates of recurrence after surgery

Rathke cleft cysts (RCC) arise from the remnants of Rathke's pouch, a structure that is midline in the pituitary. Therefore, an off-midline location on imaging is a finding that is often used to distinguish Rathke cleft cysts from pituitary adenomas, with RCCs being more commonly in the midline than in a purely lateral position. Given the rarity of these laterally oriented RCCs, the incidence and behavior of RCCs that are purely lateral have not been described in current literature. Retrospective investigation was performed through review of patient records of 122 patients who underwent surgical resection for RCCs. RCCs were classified as purely lateral or midline. Lateral RCCs were found have significantly higher rates of recurrence relative to RCCs in the midline group (p =.04). Although limited by statistical power due to the low amount of lateral RCCs (n = 13/122), our findings suggest that there may be an association between lateral RCC location and cyst recurrence.