Finding into death of Polina Portnyagina

78y · Female·Complications of a left tentorial meningioma

A 78-year-old woman with a meningioma detected incidentally on MRI in 2009 presented to hospital in 2015 with gait disturbance and falls. The tumour had grown significantly, causing hydrocephalus and mass effect. After appropriate informed consent discussions with neurosurgical staff using an interpreter, she elected to undergo surgery. She died suddenly on 10 September 2015 from complications of the meningioma (intratumoral haemorrhage and herniation) before surgery could be performed. The coroner found neurosurgical management appropriate but identified that the 2009 imaging report recommending no follow-up represented a missed opportunity for surveillance of tumour growth. Key lesson: incidental meningiomas warrant follow-up recommendations; radiologists should specify appropriate surveillance strategies rather than omitting follow-up advice.