Endoscopic Management of a Rare Case of Nasal Glioma in Meckel's Cave in an Adult: Case Report

Abstract

Background: Nasal glioma or glial heterotopia is a rare embryologic anomaly that heralds its presence shortly after birth or in childhood. Nasal glioma in an adult is very rare, often asymptomatic and the occurrence of nasal glioma in Meckel's cave in an adult has not been previously reported.

Case Report: The authors encountered a case of an incidentally diagnosed Meckel's cave nasal glioma in a 40-year-old male which was successfully excised by an endonasal endoscopic transmaxillary transpterygoid approach.

Conclusion: The occurrence of a nasal glioma in Meckel's cave an adult is very rare. Considering the deep skull base location, endonasal endoscopic surgery provides a minimal access technique to reach this location with excellent results.

endoscope - glial heterotopia - Meckel's cave - nasal glioma

References

• 1 Rahbar R, Resto VA, Robson CD. et al . Nasal glioma and encephalocele: Diagnosis and management.  Laryngoscope. 2003;  113 2069-2077
• 2 Chau HN, Hopkins C, McGilligan A. A rare case of nasal glioma in the sphenoid sinus of an adult presenting with meningoencephalitis.  Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2005;  262 592-594
• 3 Pasquini E, Farneti G. A rare case of nasal glioma in adult age.  Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1998;  118 905-906
• 4 Anand VK, Melvin FM, Reed JM. et al . Nasopharyngeal gliomas: diagnostic and treatment considerations.  Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1993;  109 534-539
• 5 Agirdir BV, Derin AT, Ozbilim G. et al . Endoscopic management of the intranasal glioma.  J Pediatr Surg. 2004;  39 1571-1573
• 6 Wu CL, Tsao LY, Yang AD. et al . Endoscopic surgery for nasal glioma mimicking encephalocele in infancy.  Skull Base. 2008;  18 401-404
• 7 Patterson K, Kapur S, Chandra RS. Nasal gliomas and related brain heterotopias: a pathologist's perspective.  Pediatr Pathol. 1986;  5 353-362
• 8 Harvey RJ, Sheahan PO, Schlosser RJ. Inferior turbinate pedicle flap for endoscopic skull base defect repair.  Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2009;  23 522-526
• 9 Zanation AM, Carrau RL, Snyderman CH. et al . Nasoseptal flap reconstruction of high flow intraoperative cerebral spinal fluid leaks during endoscopic skull base surgery.  Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2009;  23 518-521
• 10 Hofstetter CP, Singh A, Anand VK. et al . The endoscopic, endonasal, transmaxillary transpterygoid approach to the pterygopalatine fossa, infratemporal fossa, petrous apex, and the Meckel cave.  J Neurosurg. 2009 Nov 20;  [Epub ahead of print]
• 11 Zanation AM, Snyderman CH, Carrau RL. et al . Endoscopic endonasal surgery for petrous apex lesions.  Laryngoscope. 2009;  119 19-25
• 12 Tabaee A, Anand VK, Cappabianca P. et al . Endoscopic management of spontaneous meningoencephalocele of the lateral sphenoid sinus.  J Neurosurg. 2009 Aug 21;  [Epub ahead of print]

Correspondence