Abstract: Heterotopic brain tissue is a congenital developmental anomaly most commonly found in the nasal cavity, while its occurrence in the scalp is extremely rare. This report presents a case of heterotopic brain tissue occurring in the scalp of a child. The patient was a 5-year-old girl. A depressed skin lesion appeared on the right parietal region 2 years ago, without specific treatment. The lesion gradually enlarged, protruded above the skin surface, and was tender on palpation. Cranial CT showed a soft-tissue density nodule on the right parietal scalp, with no obvious abnormality of the bone. After surgical resection, the diagnosis of heterotopic brain tissue was confirmed by pathology and immunohistochemistry (GFAP+, EMA+). At the 6-month follow-up, the patient achieved satisfactory wound healing after resection of the scalp, with no clinical evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis.

Key words: vertex scalp, heterotopic brain tissue, child