Mucocele of the Nasal Septum: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Dong Hoon Lee; John Jae Woon Lee; Wan Seok Cho; Sang Chul Lim

doi:10.18787/jr.2015.22.2.112

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Lee, Lee, Cho, and Lim: Mucocele of the Nasal Septum: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Case Report

J Rhinol 2015;22(2):112-115.

Published online: 10 January 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18787/jr.2015.22.2.112

Mucocele of the Nasal Septum: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Dong Hoon Lee, MD, John Jae Woon Lee, MD, Wan Seok Cho, MD, Sang Chul Lim, MD, PhD

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School & Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea

Address for correspondence: Sang Chul Lim, MD, PhD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hwasun Hospital, 322 Seoyang-ro, Hwasun-eup, Hwasun 58128, Korea Tel: +82-61-379-8190, Fax: +82-61-379-7761, E-mail: limsc@chonnam.ac.kr

Received 12 May 2015 Revised 3 June 2015 Accepted 12 August 2015

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Mucoceles are relatively common cystic lesions of the paranasal sinuses. However, mucocele of the nasal septum is extremely rare. We report a case of a mucocele present in this unusual location. Mucocele of the nasal septum should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a mass of the nasal septum and/or median canthal region. Nasal septal mucocele can be effectively treated with endoscopic marsupialization or complete excision.

Keywords: Mucocele, Nasal septum, Endoscopic surgery.

References

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2). Gall R, Witterick I. Mucocele of the nasal septum. J Otolaryngol. 2002; 31(4):246–7.

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Fig. 1.

Endoscopic examination shows a submucosal mass (as-terisk) on the left nasal septum (S).

Fig. 2.

Enhanced CT of the paranasal sinuses (A) revealed a 1.5 cm sized high attenuated cystic mass (arrow) in the left nasal septum. On MRI, a mass (arrow) on the left nasal septum had high signal on T1-weighted image (B) and low signal on T2-weighted image (C), suggesting a mucocele.

Fig. 3.

(A) Intraoperative appearance of left nasal cavity following endoscopic marsupialization (B) At 3months’ follow up, endoscopic examination shows a well marsupialized cavity on the left nasal septum.

Fig. 4.

Histopatholgoic examination shows that a cyst is lined by low cuboidal epithelium and little inflammatory cells (Hematoxylin & Eosin staining, ×200).

Table 1.

Summary of previously reported cases with nasal septal mucocele

Cases (n=5)	Age/ Gender	r Presenting symptoms	Facial appearance	Endoscopic findings	Treatment outcome	Complication	^Follow-Up (Months)
Gall et al.¹⁾	62/M	Bilateral NO	Swelling at the lateral border of the nose and medial canthus	Bilateral septal swelling	Endoscopic marsupialization (NED)	None	02
Lei et al.²⁾	37/M	Increasing nasal mass and pain	Nasal mass	Bilateral buldging of upper septum	Endoscopic excision (NED)	None	10
Taskin et al.³⁾	45/M	Bilateral NO	Swelling at the medial canthus	bilateral swelling of the septum	Endoscopic excision (NED)	None	ND
Friedmann et al.⁴	⁴⁾32/M	Bilateral NO	Widening of the nasal vault and dorsum	Bilateral submucosal septal mass	Endoscopy assisted external approach and excision (NED)	ND	ND
Present case	52/F	Headache	NS	Unilateral swelling of the septum	Endoscopic marsupialization (NED)	None	16

NO: nasal obstruction, NS: nonspecific, NED: no evidence of disease, ND: not described

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