Is there a need to diagnose Rathke's cleft cyst pre operatively?

Rathke′s cleft cyst is a rare benign sellar lesion. The exact preoperative diagnosis of this lesion by clinical and radiological features is difficult. Hence it is often misdiagnosed as craniopharyngioma. This paper aims at identify the radiological pointers for pre operative diagnosis of Rathke′s cleft cyst. This study presents the details of nine patients who were operated in our institution between 1998 and 2008. The possibility of Rathke′s cleft cyst was considered pre operatively in one patient only. Radiological and histopathological variations were studied. On reviewing the images, characteristic imaging findings were observed in a few cases. As minimally invasive trans sphenoidal approach is sufficient for treating these lesions, pre operative diagnosis is important.