Remove the Ovarian Tumor, Cure the Encephalitis: Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis with Ovarian Teratoma in a Tertiary Hospital in Singapore

Anti-NMDAR encephalitis often causes profound neuropsychiatric symptoms in reproductive aged women. Diagnosis is based on identification of anti-NMDAR antibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and such cases are commonly associated with ovarian teratomas. We present four cases of anti-NMDAR encephalitis with ovarian teratoma, and discuss their management, with special emphasis on the surgical approach. We propose laparotomy and systemic examination of both ovaries in such cases to avoid missing small teratomas. J Med Cases. 2017;8(2):52-57 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc2734w