Bilateral orbito-cerebral-extending frontal mucocele following nasosinus polyposis: A case report

and importance: Mucoceles are expansive pseudocystic formations, developed from the sinuses of the face, affecting mainly adults. Evolving at low noise, they are most often revealed by neurological or ophthalmological complications. We report a rare case of a bilateral frontal mucocele with orbito-cerebral extension following nasal sinus polyposis.

This was a 35-year-old patient with a history of Widal syndrome, who presented frontal headaches and left proptosis evolving for 4 months, in whom clinical examination revealed a left superomedial eyelid swelling, left proptosis and stage 2 nasosinus polyposis. Computed tomography and craniofacial magnetic resonance imaging were in favor of a bilateral frontal mucocele with left orbital and bilateral cerebral extensions. The patient was bilaterally operated by a combined approach including external Jacques eyebrow and endonasal Draf IIa procedure in addition to a radical total ethmoidectomy. The outcomes were favorable with regression of headaches and resolution of exophthalmos.

The frontal mucocele, although benign, has an aggressive potential in the absence of treatment either towards the endocranium or the orbit behind the orbital septum causing intra-orbital extension, or in front of it; causing the dominant upper palpebral form as in the case of our patient. The treatment is still based on surgical excision of the cyst with drainage of the causal sinus, which was carried out for our patient.

Despite its benign behavior, frontal mucocele may become serious by compression of neighboring organs which require an early and appropriate surgical management.