Dear doctors, following several months of heavy-head, moderate but long lasting headaches, nausea as well. I’ve been recommended by my doctor to do an MRI scan after which we found out that i have a pineal gland cyst of 9mm size. would this be directly linked to the symptoms I’m having? My doctor said that the cyst had nothing to do with my headaches & that it’s migraine. what should i do regarding the pineal gland cyst? should it be monitored periodically? & in what cases is it considered serious? thank you so much!

Pineal cysts are fluid filled sacs occurring in the pineal gland. They are are generally considered benign if they are less than 5 mm. In fact, these small (less than 5 mm) cysts are relatively common and found in over 25% of sampled cadavers. These small pineal cysts rarely cause symptoms.

With your pineal cyst measuring 9 mm, it would be considered a large pineal cyst which may be associated with a variety of symptoms such as headaches, vision changes, and abnormal sleep/wake patterns. These large cysts may also be associated with brain abnormalities such as seizures and migraines. The symptoms of large cysts are mainly due to compression of adjacent structures.

Surgery for pineal cysts are mainly indicated for patients who’s symptoms are severely debilitating. In your case, the pineal gland mass is described as a cyst which indicates that its benign; it would be warranted to discuss the risks/benefits of any surgery with a neurosurgeon.