Endoscopic and KTP laser-assisted surgery for juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma is a highly vascular tumor arising from the area around the sphenopalatine foramen. Various radical and extended radical surgeries have been advocated to surgically excise both extranasopharyngeal and nasopharyngeal juvenile angiofibromas. However angiofibromas involving the nasopharynx, nose, and sphenoid with minimal lateral extension via the sphenopalatine foramen can also be adequately managed endoscopically either alone or with 1 of the traditional approaches. Nine cases of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma were successfully managed between January, 1999, and March, 2001, by preoperative selective embolization of the internal maxillary artery with or without external carotid artery clamping, followed by endoscopic excision. Two of the 9 cases underwent KTP/532 laser-assisted endoscopic excision, whereas the transpalatal approach was used along with the endoscope in another 2 cases. The patients remained free of disease after a median follow-up period of 17 months. We report our preliminary experience in endoscopic and KTP laser-assisted excision of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.