Skull vault osteoma

Last revised by Henry Knipe on 25 Nov 2022

Skull vault osteomas are benign primary bone tumors that are commonly incidentally discovered. They are less common than paranasal sinus or mandibular osteomas

Skull vault osteomas are typically asymptomatic but may present as painless, slow-growing masses or with compressive symptoms 2,4

Skull vault osteomas are juxtacortical in location and can be sessile or pedunculated and arise from the outer table (most commonly), intradiploic space, or inner table 1. They can extend into the paranasal sinuses but do not cross cranial sutures 1. Most commonly, they occur in the frontal and parietal bones 4

See main osteoma article for further details. 

  • calcified meningiomas can mimic pedunculated inner table osteomas 3

No treatment is required if asymptomatic. Symptomatic osteomas are typically surgically excised 4.

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Cases and figures

  • Case 1: outer table
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  • Case 2: outer table
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  • Case 3: on skull x-ray
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  • Case 3: on MRI
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  • Case 4
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  • Case 5: mastoid osteoma
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