Nasal glioma presenting as capillary haemangioma

We report the case of a 5-month-old female infant with a congenital nasal tumour originally attributed to a capillary haemangioma. Doppler-flow ultrasound imaging revealed a solid mass surrounded by mildly enlarged vessels which had a flow pattern atypical of haemangioma. Histology showed non-malignant gliomatous cells with low proliferative activity. A diagnosis of nasal glioma was thus established and the patient underwent cranial MRT which excluded intracranial communication of the nasal glioma. Nasal gliomas arise from a skull defect, originating from the defective closure of the anterior neuroporus. They represent encephaloceles which have lost their intracranial connection. Nasal gliomas usually present shortly after birth as an intranasal obstruction or, as in our case, as a mostly extranasal tumour.

Nasal glioma is often misdiagnosed as a capillary haemangioma. It can be distinguished from the latter by Doppler-flow ultrasonography. Magnetic resonance imaging is required to exclude intracranial communication.