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Case report
Frontal sinus pneumocele caused by a maxillary sinus mucocele
  1. Spyridon Potamianos,
  2. Eftychia Kanioura,
  3. Georgios Chrysovitsiotis and
  4. Evangelos Giotakis
  1. 1st Otorhinolaryngology Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece
  1. Correspondence to Mr Georgios Chrysovitsiotis; chrysovi{at}gmail.com

Abstract

A sinus pneumocele is a rare entity caused by obstruction of a paranasal sinus ostium. It is characterised by dilation and expansion of the sinus, with subsequent bony erosion. The most probable mechanism is air trapping in the paranasal sinus, via a one-way valve mechanism. The case presented concerns a 68-year-old Caucasian man, with recurrent episodes of acute rhinosinusitis. Clinical examination and subsequent imaging of the face, revealed a large pneumocele of the right frontal sinus that significantly eroded the posterior sinus wall. A large mucocele of the right maxillary sinus was also noted, extending to the middle meatus, causing full obstruction of the ostiomeatal complex. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed, the mucocele was removed and the pneumatisation pathway of the frontal sinus was restored. The patient reports full resolution of symptoms and shows no evidence of recurrence, 6 months postoperatively.

  • ear
  • nose and throat/otolaryngology
  • otolaryngology / ENT

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-242477

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors are clinicians that were involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the case. EG was the primary responsible doctor and also performed the endoscopic sinus surgery. SP, EK and GC have reviewed the literature and written a first draft that was edited following comments from the primary responsible doctor. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to the BMJ Case Reports’ submission policies.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.