Nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting with cavernous sinus involvement, trigeminal neuralgia and middle ear effusion

We reported and analyzed an unusual case of NPC [Nasopharyngeal carcinoma] where the patient had initial clinical features of cavernous sinus involvement followed by trigeminal neuralgia and middle ear dysfunction. In the present case, the initial involvement of the cavernous sinus resulted in the left sided third nerve involvement. Later on, the extension of the tumor in and around the trigeminal ganglion resulted in facial pain. Up to that point in time, a possibility of cavernous sinus lesion was considered and this caused a delay in the diagnosis. In accordance with the literature, this case illustrates that the tumor is difficult to diagnose during the early stages for multiple reasons, including: the non-specificity of the initial symptoms and the difficulty of examining the postnasal space

Cystic acoustic schwannoma: a case report and review of literature

A cystic acoustic neurinoma almost entirely consists of a cystic component and is a well recognized subtype of acoustic schwannoma. We report a case of a 40-yearold male patient who presented with clinical features of a left cerebello-pontine angle mass lesion and CT scan findings mimicking the diagnosis of an epidermoid cyst. However intraoperative and histopathological findings were suggestive of a large cystic acoustic schwannoma. We have also analyzed the characteristics, clinical symptoms and radiological findings of these tumors. In the presence of a large cystic cerebellopontine angle tumor without a significant hearing loss and no destruction of the internal auditory canal, the possibility of the cystic acoustic neurinoma should be considered