title: Sphenoid sinus mucocele caused by a completely thrombosed intracavernous carotid artery aneurysm: an unusual association.
abstract: Background Mucocele is an inflammatory disease caused by the retention of mucoid secretions within a paranasal sinus. Although rare, the presence of a vascular lesion inside the sphenoid sinus could determine ostium obstruction, thus causing mucocele development. Clinical Presentation An 84-year-old woman was referred to our institution due to a lesion abutting into the sphenoid sinus; she was complaining of constrictive frontal headache, progressive worsening of visual acuity in the left eye; later, sudden homolateral ptosis and diplopia occurred. The radiologic evidence was consistent with the diagnosis of thrombosed aneurysm of the right intracavernous carotid artery, surrounded by sphenoidal mucocele. The patient underwent an endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal approach exclusively for sphenoid mucocele drainage. Conclusion Although rare, the presence of a vascular lesion inside the sphenoid sinus has to be considered among the possible diagnostic hypotheses of masses abutting in this cavity; the association with mucocele is even more rare and, to date, has not been described.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Michelangelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: Clinical Centre of Serbia, Clinic of Neurosurgery, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Piscevic
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Solari
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cavallo
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cappabianca
keywords: aneurysm; endoscopic endonasal surgery; sinus surgery; skull base surgery; sphenoidal mucocele
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