Separated Intraorbital Mucopyocele of Frontoethmoidal Sinus Origin

ABSTRACT

Intraorbital expansion is not rare in frontoethmoidal mucoceles and various rhinological surgeries have been reported for the management of this condition. However, although intraorbital mucoceles are apt to be accompanied by ophthalmological or neurological complications, their treatment by neurosurgical procedures has been reported considerably less frequently than that by rhinological approach. The authors report a patient with intraorbital mucopyocele that was extended from the frontoethmoidal sinus but separated by the thick fibrous septum. The patient had suffered from progressive proptosis with orbital pain and was successfully treated with transorbital complete removal of cyst by the subfrontal extradural approach. We suggest that an subfrontal transorbital approach such as this method is needed for complete marsupialization of an intraorbital mucocele and to prevent recurrence, especially in cases like our presentation.