Middle turbinate angiofibroma: an unusual location for juvenile angiofibroma

Middle Turbinate Angiofibroma in a Middle-Aged Female: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Extra Nasopharyngeal Angiofibromas are rare benign vascular tumors typically affecting adolescent males. They have variable sites of origin. Only five cases of extra nasopharyngeal angiofibroma originating from the middle turbinate have been reported in the literature, here we present the sixth such case. A 44-year-old female presented with a history of left-sided nasal obstruction and spontaneous, profuse and recurrent epistaxis. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan showed a hyper vascular mass arising from the left middle turbinate. A provisional diagnosis of extra nasopharyngeal angiofibroma was made and it was successfully surgically excised using a midfacial degloving approach under general anaesthesia. The diagnosis was confirmed with post-operative histopathological analysis. Due to the extremely rare occurrence of Extra Nasopharyngeal Angiofibromas originating from the middle turbinate and their infrequent presentation in female patients, misdiagnosis poses a greater risk of complications. The surgeon must exercise caution before conducting misguided biopsies, which are contraindicated.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-024-04740-6.

Imaging of the Sinonasal Cavities

This article describes the various abnormalities that affect the sinonasal cavities and discusses inflammations, tumors, and tumor-like conditions. Specific imaging evaluations that focus on the sinonasal cavities are described in more detail.

Middle turbinate angiofibroma in an adolescent boy

Bleeding nasal mass in adolescent boys has customarily been attributed to Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. However, little is known regarding the extranasopharyngeal origin of angiofibroma, as highlighted in this case report of a 15-year-old boy who presented with recurrent epistaxis and nasal obstruction. On constructing a working diagnosis of nasal haemangioma, the patient was taken up for endoscopic excision under general anaesthesia. Intraoperative endoscopic findings and histopathological examination revealed the diagnosis of middle turbinate angiofibroma, which is an extremely rare extranasopharyngeal angiofibroma. Consequently, this represents the third described case of a juvenile angiofibroma arising from the middle turbinate.