Mucocele of neurosurgical interest: clinical considerations on five cases

The authors present five patients with mucocele, submitted to neurosurgery. Two had mucoceles spreading from the frontal and/or the anterior ethmoidal sinuses and had only compressive mass symptoms, either on the ocular globe or on the frontal lobe or on both. Three patients had mucoceles growing from the sphenoid and/or posterior ethmoidal sinuses. In these latter, the mass symptoms were less evident. All the patients suffered excruciating retro-ocular pain and two presented cranial nerve damage. The correct diagnosis in these cases is crucial to avoid a too aggressive treatment since these patients are generally sent to a neurosurgeon for a suspected cranial base malignancy or an invasive pituitary adenoma. The principles of a correct differential diagnosis and of operative treatment are outlined based on an analysis of the literature and the authors experience.