Endoscopic surgery for juvenile angiofibroma: a critical review of indications after 46 cases.

BACKGROUND: At present, transnasal endoscopic surgery is considered a viable option in the management of small-intermediate size juvenile angiofibromas (JAs). The authors critically review their 14-year experience in the management of this lesion to refine selection criteria for an endoscopic approach. METHODS: From January 1994 to May 2008, 46 patients were treated by a pure endoscopic resection after vascular embolization (87%). The lesions were classified according to Andrews (Andrews JC, et al., The surgical management of extensive nasopharyngeal angiofibromas with the infratemporal fossa approach, Laryngoscope 99:429-437, 1989) and Onerci (Onerci M, et al. Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: A revised staging system, Rhinology 44:39-45, 2006) staging systems. All patients were followed by regular endoscopic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. RESULTS: Lesions were classified as follows: stage I, n = 5; stage II, n = 24; stage IIIa, n = 14; stage IIIb, n = 3 according to Andrews classification system; stage 1, n = 9; stage II, n = 12; stage III, n = 26 according to Onerci's system. Unilateral blood supply was detected in 39 (85%) cases. Feeding vessels from the internal carotid artery (ICA) were also reported in 14 (30%) patients. Intraoperative blood loss ranged from 250 to 1300 mL (mean, 580 mL). In four (8.7%) cases, suspicious residual disease was detected by MRI. In one patient, a 1-cm persistent lesion was endoscopically removed because septoplasty was required and a slight increase in size was noticed. The other three lesions, all located in the root of the pterygoid plate, are nearly stable in size and are currently under MRI follow-up. CONCLUSION: The improvement of surgical instrumentation and the experience acquired during a 14-year period have contributed to expanding the indications for endoscopic surgery in the management of JAs. Even stage III lesions may be successfully managed, unless the ICA is encased or if it provides an extensive blood supply. An external approach may be required when critical structures such as the ICA, cavernous sinus, or optic nerve are involved by lesions that are persistent after previous treatment; such a situation may prevent safe and radical dissection with a pure endoscopic approach. Better understanding of the factors influencing the growth of residual lesions is needed to differentiate those requiring re-treatment from those which can be simply observed.

Giant hypervascular lesion of the sinonasal tract invading the anterior skull base and orbit: a puzzling case.

The sinonasal tract may be involved in a wide variety of hypervascular lesions, either benign or malignant, and differential diagnosis may be challenging. We present the case of a 26-year-old man with an aggressive ethmoid hypervascular mass invading the anterior skull base and orbit. Because of massive intraoperative bleeding and difficult dissection of the lesion from the periorbita, the planned cranioendoscopic approach had to be converted into a standard craniofacial resection by a combined Lynch and coronal incision. The definitive diagnosis was consistent with lobular capillary hemangioma associated with intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia. Two years after surgery, the patient is free of disease. Lobular capillary hemangioma is a hypervascular lesion that may involve the sinonasal tract. The case presented herein is exceptional, both in the presentation and in the difficulties encountered in diagnosis and treatment, because of the concurrence of lobular capillary hemangioma and intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia.

Cervical necrotizing fasciitis with mediastinitis: a rare occurrence in the pediatric age.

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening, progressive, bacterial soft tissue infection characterized by necrosis of skin, subcutaneous tissues, fasciae, and muscles. It usually occurs in adults and is most often localized to the abdominal wall, the extremities, the perineum, the pelvis, and the thoracic region. Localization to the head and neck area is rarely encountered, especially in pediatric patients. Early diagnosis and prompt, aggressive surgical treatment associated with intravenous, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy are mandatory to successfully control the disease. To date, only anecdotal cases of cervical NF in the pediatric age have been described. We report a case of cervical NF with mediastinitis in a 13-year-old girl who underwent successful immediate surgery and prolonged intravenous antibiotic therapy. A literature review is also presented with particular emphasis on etiology, clinical and radiological presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of this rare disorder.

Benign vascular lesions involving the external ear canal.

Benign vascular lesions include various forms whose classification has created some controversies in the literature. The observation of two rare cases of vascular bulge of the external ear canal prompted us to analyze the essential features of these lesions. One case was observed during an episode of otitis media, the other one was an incidental finding, and both are still on follow-up without treatment. The lesions are unmodified after 4 and 10 years, respectively. Vascular malformations can be differentiated from vascular tumors since they are present at birth, are generally stable, and do not involute. An attending strategy is justified unless symptoms occur.