CASE REPORT article
Front. Radiol.
Sec. Neuroradiology
Sturge-Weber syndrome type III in pediatrics: a case report
Hui hui Lin
Yu xiao Wang
Jing Fan
radiology, Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital, Hefei, China
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Abstract
Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) type III is a rare neurocutaneous disorder characterized by isolated neurological involvement without cutaneous or ocular manifestations. This case report describes the clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings of a 5-year-old male patient with SWS type III who presented with recurrent headaches and convulsions for 1 year. No facial hemangioma was noted on physical examination. Laboratory tests revealed mild hyperammonemia (29.4 μmol/L; reference range: 10–27 μmol/L) and low pyruvate (18 μmol/L; reference range: 20–100 μmol/L). Video electroencephalogram showed diffuse slow wave elevation, and cranial CT/MRI confirmed leptomeningeal capillary malformations with calcifications in the left occipital lobe (no cerebral atrophy). The patient was diagnosed with SWS type III based on clinical and imaging findings, and his symptoms were well-controlled with symptomatic treatment. This case highlights the importance of imaging modalities in diagnosing SWS type III in pediatric patients with non-specific neurological symptoms, and emphasizes the favorable prognosis of early-detected cases with short disease courses.
Summary
Keywords
computed tomography, Leptomeningeal capillary malformation, Magneticresonance imaging, Pediatrics, Sturge-Weber syndrome type III
Received
15 December 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Lin, Wang and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jing Fan
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