This time last week, I had no idea what a colloid cyst was, how things can change in a week. My auntie is 57 and has been suffering with headaches for a good few months, she also had some slight memory problems that were not taken too seriously at the time.

Nearly two weeks ago she had to come home from work due to a severe headache and things gradually went downhill from there on. The headache continued and her memory began to get really bad. Her health declined quite rapidly over the next few days, which included severe confusion, dizziness, episodes of seeing strange images in her eyes and some sight loss. At this point the decision was made by an emergency doctor to get her to hospital. She had an MRI scan the next day which showed a colloid cyst in the middle of her brain, she had surgery last Wednesday to remove the fluid and some of the cyst lining.

As I said, this is an entirely new thing to us and we have no idea what to expect of her recovery. She still has a drain attached but it is her short term memory that is a concern. She has no recollection really of anything that has happened since that first severe headache. Every couple of minutes she will ask where she is, how long, what have I had done etc. We have left her little notes and my cousin did her a scrapbook to try and jog her memory but there seems to be little improvement.

We just want her back with us know and it's awful to see her constantly searching for answers. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions or personal experiences with regard to this type of memory loss. It would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards, Rachel.

It sounds to me like your aunt's fornix was probably damaged during one of her surgeries. This is a rare but possible (~5%) complication of cyst resection surgery, especially if the approach is orthoscopic, and was something that I discussed with my neurosurgeon prior to having my colloid cyst removed. I'm surprised that they are not discussing this possibility.