Expanded endonasal endoscopic approach for resection of a juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma with skull base involvement

Abstract

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas (JNAs) are rare vascular tumors which arise in the nasopharynx of adolescent males. Patients with these tumors can be cured by surgery, which is the treatment of choice in the majority of patients. Traditional surgical techniques for patients with JNAs have been via open surgical approaches. Since 2000, however, the surgical management of JNAs has changed due to advances in endoscopic procedures and such approaches are standard for early stage lesions which are limited to the nasal cavity, nasopharynx and the paranasal sinuses. The role and limitations of endoscopic approaches for JNAs with skull base and intracranial involvement are being defined. In this report, we describe a patient with a JNA with skull base involvement who underwent an expanded endonasal endoscopic approach for a complete resection. Additionally, we review the literature of endoscopic approaches to JNAs with skull base involvement.