title: Anterior clinoid mucocele presenting with orbital apex syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pneumatized anterior clinoid process is a common anatomic variant. Mucocele formation is a known complication of clinoid drilling during certain intracranial operations; however, mucoceles of pneumatized anterior clinoid processes have been found to spontaneously occur.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 44-year-old male presented with complaints of left-sided retro-orbital pain, double vision, and numbness over the upper face and scalp on the left side of 1-week duration. On examination, he was found to develop cranial nerve III, IV, and VI palsies with pupillary sparing, ophthalmic division cranial nerve V dysfunction, and eventually, the onset of vision loss.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report a case of spontaneous anterior clinoid process mucocele presenting with orbital apex syndrome. This was treated successfully with anterior clinoidectomy for decompression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Khoi D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Than
authors.forename: Suresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramnath
authors.forename: Aditya S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Pandey
keywords: Anterior clinoid process; mucocele; orbital apex syndrome