Clival mucocele: An unusual finding 17 years after endoscopic sinus surgery

Abstract

Introduction: To describe a case of an isolated clival mucocele presenting asymptomatically after previous endoscopic sinus surgery and review the existing literature on the clinical characteristics associated with these lesions. Methods: Case report and literature review. Results: We present a case of a clival mucocele that was found incidentally in a 66-year-old female undergoing hearing loss evaluation and had previously undergone endoscopic sphenoidotomy 17 years prior. The lesion was drained via an expanded endonasal endoscopic approach without complication and pathology confirmed the diagnosis of mucocele. Conclusion: This case demonstrates the efficacy of a surgical approach to cystic lesions of the clivus and highlights the importance of regular follow-up after endoscopic sinus surgery to detect these potentially subtle lesions and prevent their symptomatic progression.

Keywords

• Mucocele
• Clivus
• Rhinology
• Skull base
• Case report
• Endoscopic surgery