The Journal of Laryngology & Otology

Table of Contents - September 2012 - Volume 126, Issue 09  

Clinical Records

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea revealing an unusual ethmoido-sphenoidal foreign body

A Aubina1, S Morinierea1, P Françoisa2a3 and D Bakhosa1a3 c1

a1 ENT and Cervico-facial Surgery Service, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours, France

a2 Neurosurgery Service, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Tours, France

a3 Faculty of Medicine, University François-Rabelais of Tours, France

Abstract

Introduction: Foreign bodies in the transnasal ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus are uncommon. We present a case of unilateral rhinorrhoea caused by a foreign body which had been lodged in the ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus for 38 years.

Case report: A 40-year-old woman presented with unilateral rhinorrhoea. Computed tomography showed a foreign body located in the right ethmoido-sphenoidal sinus, with a defect of the lamina papyracea and the ethmoid roof. The endonasal approach did not permit extraction of the foreign body. A combined approach allowed the extraction of a pen cap, and the defect of the ethmoid roof was rebuilt.

Conclusion: Despite its limitations, the endonasal approach remains the treatment of first choice for osteo-meningeal defects, because of its minimal invasiveness and high success rate. However, in the presented case a combined approach was needed.

(Accepted December 02 2011)

(Online publication July 12 2012)

Key words

Correspondence:

c1 Address for correspondence: Dr David Bakhos, 10 Boulevard Tonnellé, 37000 Tours, France Fax: +33 247 473 600 E-mail: bakhos_d@med.univ-tours.fr

Footnotes

Dr D Bakhos takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Competing interests: None declared

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