Solitary Sphenoid Sinus Lesion Presenting as Chronic Headache

Headache is a common symptom with etiologies that are difficult to distinguish, 1 of which is sinusitis. A solitary sphenoid lesion, which is rare, can also cause acute or chronic headaches. The authors investigated whether endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for solitary sphenoid lesions could reduce headache symptoms.

The authors reviewed the charts of patients who underwent ESS from 2012 to 2017, whose main symptom was a chronic headache for several years. There were no remarkable pathologic findings in the nasal cavity upon endoscopic examination. Medications for reducing headaches had transient effect. Brain magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scans showed a solitary sphenoid lesion and the patients underwent ESS by the same otolaryngologist. In total, 16 out of 547 ESS cases that met the above conditions were included in this study. The authors evaluated the duration, character, and degree of the headaches pre- and post-operatively. The authors also determined if there was a correlation between headaches, sphenoidal lesions, and pathologic outcomes.

There were significant improvements in headaches after surgery. The pre- and post-operative mean visual analog scale score for headaches was 7.27 ± 1.67 and 3.80 ± 1.82, respectively. The pathologic outcomes revealed chronic inflammation in 11 patients, nasal polyp in 1 patient, inverted papilloma in 1 patient, and fungal infections in 3 patients, but there was no clinical correlation between the headache, lesion site, and pathology.

A solitary sphenoid lesion can be the cause of acute or chronic headaches. Headaches from a solitary sphenoid sinus lesion, which were not controlled by medical treatments, could be improved by surgical procedures.