Mucinous intestinal type adenocarcinoma of the sinonasal tract secondary to passive wood dust inhalation: case report

Sinonasal adenocarcinoma presented as a giant anterior cranial fossa mass: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Intestinal adenocarcinoma accounts for less than 0.1-4% of all malignancies in the region. It is common among woodworkers and leather workers. Sinonasal adenocarcinoma usually arises from the ethmoid sinus (40%) or nasal cavity (25%). Extension to nearby structures is common, but intracranial spread is very rare. These tumors are usually treated with surgery, with a reported 5-year survival rate of 59% to 80%.

CASE PRESENTATION

This is a 60-year-old Black African male patient who presented with globalized headache, nasal obstruction with snoring during sleep, anosmia, change in mentation, sometimes agitation and left-side visual loss of one-year duration with worsening his above symptoms over the last one month. He couldn't smell soap bilaterally; in his left eye he could see only hand movement at nearly 30 cm. On brain magnetic resonance imaging, there was a T1 hypo- and T2 hyper-intense anterior cranial fossa mass arising from the left ethmoid sinuses and sphenoid sinuses and compressing the left optic structures, and brain computed tomography demonstrated heterogeneous hypo- to isodense mass. Complete tumor excision achieved and discharged with significant improvement and linked to oncology unit for radiotherapy.

CONCLUSION

The management of these patients is multidisciplinary, involving neurosurgeons, otolaryngologists, oncologists, and maxillofacial surgeons. Surgical resection is the main treatment strategy, followed by radiotherapy, particularly intensity-modulated therapy. Chemotherapy is used in highly advanced, metastatic, and unresectable tumors.

Strategies for avoiding complications with vascularized bone flaps in head and neck microvascular reconstruction

Effective osseous reconstruction of the head and neck after congenital, traumatic, and particularly ablative oncologic procedures is a relatively recent innovation. Whereas pioneers led with individual donor sites, it is only in the past 20 years that most centers have developed teams comfortable with use of the four common donor sites for free flaps: iliac crest, fibula, radius, and scapula. Calvarium, though much less frequently used, is a useful donor site for specific reconstructive challenges. Less commonly used sites such as femur, humerus, and rib have not proved universally reliable. This article aims to illustrate some refinements and pitfalls in vascularized osseous reconstruction of the head and neck using the well-recognized flaps, including calvarium, in a variety of pathologic conditions, recipient-site defects, and comorbidities. Strategies for error avoidance will be emphasized. The authors hope that this will support the concept of a reconstructive "toolbox" for this complex area.