Prenatal diagnosis of a nasal glioma

Abstract

Nasal glioma is a rare congenital midline malformation composed of heterotopic masses of neuroglial tissue. We report a case of fetal nasal glioma diagnosed by sonography at 22 weeks' gestation as a vascular hypoechoic mass located on the left nasal bone. Fetal MRI excluded an underlying bone defect. At birth, the lesion appeared as a reddish mass. Post natal imaging confirmed the vascularisation within the lesion with an arterial low-flow velocity and a high-resistance spectrum, consistent with a glioma. The child underwent surgery at 5 months and final diagnosis was made on pathological examination. Therefore, a vascular lesion and a clinical aspect mimicking a haemangioma should not be considered sufficient to reach the final diagnosis.