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Endoscopic Endonasal Surgery for a Pterygopalatine Fossa Hydatid Cyst
Vjerislav Peterković1, Marcel Marjanović Kavanagh2, Hrvoje Barić1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
Background:
Cystic echinococcosis is a manifestation of a zoonosis caused by larvae of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato and pterygopalatine fossa cases are extremely rare.
Clinical Presentation And Findings:
A 45-year-old Caucasian female with a history of repeated surgeries for HC was referred to our center for treatment of a cystic mass of the pterygopalatine fossa. Multiorgan dissemination was noted on preoperative imaging.
Interventions:
An endonasal endoscopic procedure was carried over under general anesthesia and the CE completely removed. Etiology was confirmed by molecular diagnostics. Three weeks after the skull base procedure, the patient underwent a combined abdominal/urological procedure for treatment of other cysts.
Conclusion:
This case shows that the pterygopalatine fossa HC are amenable to surgical treatment using the endonasal endoscopic approach. Extensive preoperative workup is essential to assess the extent of the disease.
