Surgical outcomes in 118 patients with Rathke cleft cysts

This is the largest series of patients with symptomatic Rathke cleft cysts who received operative intervention and participated in the longest postoperative follow up reported in the literature. The high recurrence rate (18%) supports the theory that a relationship exists between a symptomatic Rathke cleft cyst and craniopharyngioma. Improvements in visual and endocrine dysfunction can be expected after surgical decompression of the optic apparatus and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.