title: Diagnosis of isolated sphenoid lesions.
abstract: Isolated lesions of the sphenoid sinus are rare, and diagnosis is difficult because of the non-specific symptoms and clinical signs. The pathology of these lesions can be divided into three groups: inflammatory lesions, tumoural lesions, and a small group of so-called miscellaneous lesions. In a retrospective study, we evaluated the diagnosis and underlying pathology of 49 consecutive isolated sphenoid lesions all subjected to diagnostic and/or therapeutic endoscopic sinus surgery. The diagnosis of isolated sphenoid lesions based on clinical history and clinical examination, including nasal endoscopy, was not reliable because of the non-specific symptoms and clinical signs. A definitive diagnosis could be made only by radiological imaging and/or surgical exploration. The largest group of patients suffered from inflammatory lesions (29 patients), followed by tumoural lesions in 17 patients. Two patients had a sphenoidal cerebrospinal fluid leak, and one patient had a cholesterol granuloma. The outcome for patients who underwent a therapeutic endoscopic surgical procedure was favorable in 22% and perfect in 67%. There were no complications during or after endoscopic surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neyt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jorissen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010254:Paranasal Sinus Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013101:Sphenoid Sinus; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult