Pseudo third cranial nerve palsy secondary to orbital ectopic lacrimal gland cyst: management with functional...

An otherwise healthy 13-month-old girl was noted by her pediatrician to have developed a left head turn. The patient was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist, who noticed signs of incomplete third cranial nerve palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of an abnormal lesion in the inferonasal orbit that was abutting the ethmoid sinus. After consultation with an ENT specialist, the decision was made to remove the lesion via functional endoscopic sinus surgery because this approach was deemed to provide adequate access while limiting morbidity. Histology of the excised lesion identified it as true ectopic lacrimal gland tissue with cysts. We recognize and comment on the fact that in many reported cases of ectopic lacrimal gland cyst, the tissue was not ectopic at all but instead represented an extension of normal lacrimal gland tissue.