[Endoscopic surgical treatment of patients with isolated sphenoid sinus disease]

INTRODUCTION

Cases of isolated lesions of the sphenoid sinus are rare. For descriptive purposes, clinicians divide them into inflammatory and non-inflammatory with prevalence of the former. Symptoms of the sphenoid sinus disease are difficult to characterise, the most common of them being vague headache and visual disturbances. Thorough preoperative evaluation of the lesion is essential - nasal endoscopy must be performed and computerised tomography or magnetic resonance imaging results analysed. The purpose of the study is to present the assessment of endoscopic surgery outcome in the own group of patients with isolated sphenoid disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Clinical data of 22 subjects were analysed retrospectively. There were 5 patients with bacterial sinusitis, 6 with fungal sinusitis, 4 with allergic thickening of the mucous membrane with no evidence of bacterial or fungal infection, 2 with mucocele, 1 with sphenoid osteoma, 1 with inverted papilloma, 1 with a foreign body and 2 with cerebral fluid fistula. Each patient had preoperative nasal endoscopy and CT/MRI imaging performed. Then they underwent endoscopic transnasal sphenoethmoidectomy with removal of the lesion or closure of the fistula. The sphenoid sinus was approached through its front wall.

RESULTS

The patients' postoperative course was uneventful. They noted improvement in all preoperative symptoms, except for bilateral oculomotor nerve paralysis in one individual, and were asymptomatic to ophthalmological examination.

CONCLUSIONS

Isolated lesions of the sphenoid sinus, even very rare tumours like those presented here, can be in most cases safely approached and removed endoscopically. All risks of the method must be considered prior to the operation. High frequency of fungal sinusitis should be noted.

Mucoceles of the sphenoid sinus

PURPOSE

Mucoceles of the sphenoid sinus represent 1-2% of all paranasal sinus mucoceles. The aim of this paper is to report our experiences in patients with mucoceles of the sphenoid sinus.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

In a period of 4 years, we observed six patients in whom a mucocele of the sphenoid sinus was suggested pre- or intraoperatively. Symptoms and signs included headache, visual loss and palsies of the III and VI cranial nerve. All patients were investigated by MRI and/or CT. Imaging findings were compared with operative and/or histological findings.

RESULTS

In three cases there were simple mucoceles, in one case we found a tumour (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) associated mucocele and in two cases, malignant tumours (carcinoma, chordoma) imitated a mucocele. The diagnosis of simple mucoceles was no problem at all by imaging. Difficulties made the two malignant tumours and the tumour associated mucocele. In the first two cases, repeated histological samples were necessary to make the final diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Mucoceles of the sphenoid sinus should be investigated and handled very carefully with regard to differential diagnoses and tumour associated cases.

Factors in the pathogenesis of tumors of the sphenoid and maxillary sinuses: a comparative study

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

To explain the processes that lead to the development of tumors in the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses.

STUDY DESIGN

A 32-year review of the world's literature on neoplasms of these two sinuses and a randomized case-controlled study comparing the normal mucosal architecture of the maxillary to the sphenoid sinus.

METHODS

Analysis of a 32-year world literature review reporting series of cases of maxillary and sphenoid sinus tumors. Tumors were classified by histological type and separated into subgroups if an individual incidence rate was reported. Histomorphometry of normal maxillary and sphenoid sinus mucosa was performed in 14 randomly selected patients (10 sphenoid and 4 maxillary specimens). Specimens were fixed in 10% formalin, embedded in paraffin, and stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and hematoxylin. Histomorphometric analysis was performed with a Zeiss Axioscope light microscope (Carl Zeiss Inc., Thornwood, NY) mounted with a Hamamatsu (Hamamatsu Photonics, Tokyo, Japan) color-chilled 3 charge coupled device digital camera. The images were captured on a 17-inch Sony (Sony Corp., Tokyo, Japan) multiscan monitor and analyzed with a Samba 4000 Image Analysis Program (Samba Corp., Los Angeles, CA). Five random areas were selected from strips of epithelium removed from each sinus, and goblet and basal cell measurements were made at magnifications x 100 and x 400.

RESULTS

The literature review revealed that the number and variety of tumors in the maxillary sinus are much greater than those in the sphenoid. The incidence of metastatic lesions to each sinus is approximately equal. No recognized pattern of spread from any particular organ system could be determined. On histomorphometric study there were no statistically significant differences between the sinuses in the concentration of goblet cells, basal cells, or seromucinous glands.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors involved in the pathogenesis of tumors of the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses include differences in nasal physiology, embryology, morphology, and topography. There are no significant histological differences in the epithelium and submucous glands between the two sinuses to explain the dissimilar formation of neoplasms.