Endoscopic Surgery for Nasal Glioma Mimicking Encephalocele in Infancy

Abstract

Intranasal gliomas are challenging for several reasons. Their diagnosis may not be immediately obvious at presentation. It is important to exclude an intracranial extension, and for this some have suggested a craniotomy. We report a 9-day-old male infant in whom an intranasal glioma that mimicked an encephalocele was successfully excised by endoscopic approach after failure to excise it through a craniotomy. After more than a 5-year follow-up, the patient is still free from the disease. An endoscopic intranasal approach provides a safe and effective method for the management of nasal glioma and does not result in postoperative facial scaring or deformity. Endoscopic techniques provide excellent visualization and are preferable to the classic frontal craniotomy to excluding intracranial extension of nasal glioma.