Endoscopic Transnasal Transpterygoid Excision of an Infratemporal Dermoid Cyst.

OBJECTIVE

Intracranial dermoid cysts are rare, slow-growing masses of sellar, parasellar regions, and posterior cranial fossa. The symptomatology of these cysts depends on the localization and presence of rupture. The preoperative diagnosis of these cysts by imagining techniques is distinctive as they have characteristic appearances.

METHODS

Endoscopic transnasal transpterygoid approach to infratemporal fossa for an extradural dermoid cyst of a 24 year-old woman is presented in this clinical report. Headache, dizziness, and retro orbital pain were her main complaints and diagnostic imagining studies designated an intracranial dermoid cyst preoperatively. The cyst was excised uneventfully with no recurrence 6 months after the operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery of intracranial lesions neighboring critical vital neurovascular structures can be challenging to the surgeon. Alternative minimal invasive approaches should always be considered for averting life-threatening complications.