title: Unusual case of bilateral maxillary fungus ball.
abstract: An otherwise healthy 34-year-old man was referred to our ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinic for a bilateral maxillary radiologic opacity. This condition was accidentally discovered with a panoramic radiography performed during a follow-up visit after a bilateral endodontic treatment. The patient did not report any specific sinonasal symptom such as purulent nasal discharge, loss of smell and cough, apart from an unspecific sinus pressure. The CT scans showed a bilateral inflammatory process into the maxillary-ethmoidal sinuses and an iron-like density within the maxillary sinuses, while nasal endoscopy showed purulent discharge in the ostiomeatal complex. The patient underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery under general anaesthesia and the inflammatory material collected was histologically diagnosed as a rare case of bilateral fungus ball. The patient was dismissed the following day with no complications; there were not any sign of recurrence or symptoms during a 4 month follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vinciguerra
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Saibene
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lozza
authors.affiliation: Otolaryngology Department, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maccari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004724:Endoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008443:Maxillary Sinus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology; D015523:Maxillary Sinusitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed