title: Unilateral isolated sphenoid sinusitis with contralateral abducens nerve palsy - A rare complication treated in a low-resource setting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unilateral isolated sphenoid sinus disease (ISSD) is a rare diagnosis of the paranasal sinuses that can be associated with complications involving vascular, neurologic, and optic structures in close proximity.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 62 year old female presented to a hospital in Georgetown, Guyana with right lateral rectus palsy, diplopia, and a severe progressively worsening headache. CT scan revealed an opaque left sphenoid sinus consistent with unilateral ISSD. A transnasal sphenoidotomy was performed without complication under local anesthetic in the absence of endoscopic guidance. The patient's headache resolved immediately after surgery while the diplopia and lateral rectus palsy resolved completely after 6 weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present a rare complication of ISSD and highlight challenges associated with diagnosis and management of ISSD in a resource-limited setting. This is the second reported case of unilateral ISSD with contralateral lateral rectus palsy in the literature.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. jsiu@qmed.ca.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Georgetown Public Hospital, Georgetown, Guyana. Sbs1950@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. leigh.sowerby@sjhc.london.on.ca.
authors.forename: Leigh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sowerby
mesh_terms: D020434:Abducens Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D003906:Developing Countries; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006172:Guyana; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013101:Sphenoid Sinus / Q000601:surgery; D015524:Sphenoid Sinusitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*