Section: 
From practice
From practiceThe case of bilateral defects of the lateral recesses of the sphenoid sinus
E. V. Shelesko (1), D. V. Fomichev (1), N. A. Chernikova (1), D. N. Zinkevich (1)
(1) Burdenko National Medical Research Center for Neurosurgery, Moscow, 125047, Russia
UDK: 616.216.3-002.828-073.756.8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18692/1810-4800-2019-6-111-118
ABSTRACT
Spontaneous defects of the lateral recess of the sphenoid sinus result from the incomplete junction of the greater wing of sphenoid bone with the basisphenoid. This anomaly is known as the lateral craniopharyngeal canal or Sternberg’s canal. However, the exact mechanisms of formation of the lateral recess defects are still under-explored and cause much controversy. The progressive erosion of the skull base in patients with high intracranial pressure and highly pneumatized sphenoid sinus may result in generation of defects through which the intracranial content penetrates. In this article, we present a rare case of the development of bilateral meningocele of the lateral recess of the sphenoid sinus with recurrent bilateral liquorrhea. A female patient P, 38 years old, visited our clinic with the complaints of clear nasal discharge from different halves of the nose when the head was bent forward. A computer cisternography showed that the patient had bilateral meningocele of the lateral recesses of the sphenoid sinus. The patient underwent the surgery of endoscopic endonasal plasty of complex skull base defects in the lateral recesses of the sphenoid sinus on the left and right under the control of the Medtronic fusion navigation system. There were no complaints in the postsurgical period, the patient was discharged on the 6th day after surgery.
Publication date:
11.12.2019
Keywords:
nasal liquorrhea, meningoencephalocele, sphenoid sinus, Sternberg’s canal, endoscopic examination, transpterygoid approach, skull base. For citation:
Shelesko E. V., Fomichev D. V., Chernikova N. A., Zinkevich D. N. The case of bilateral defects of the lateral recesses of the sphenoid sinus. Rossiiskaya otorinolaringologiya. 2019;18(6):111–118. https://doi.org/10.18692/1810-4800-2019-6-111-118