Maxillary Sinus Ameloblastoma: Transnasal Endoscopic Management

Abstract

Ameloblastoma (AM) is a slow growing and aggressive benign tumor with an odontogenic epithelial origin arising from the mandible or maxilla. The odontogenic neoplasm invades local tissues asymptomatically and accounts for 1% of oral tumors and over 10% of odontogenic tumors. A 64-year-old man with a history of allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) undergoing a revision image-guided endoscopic sinus surgery was found to have a fibrous mass suspicious of malignancy projecting inferolaterally and attached to the floor of the left maxillary sinus. Diagnostic biopsies were taken, and additional surgery was required to successfully resect the tumor via a transnasal endoscopic dissection. Multiple permanent pathology samples concluded the diagnosis of an AM. Endoscopic investigations led to the incidental discovery and ultimate complete endoscopic resection of the AM. The utilization of an endoscopic resection compared to the traditional maxillectomy with reconstruction results in significant less short and long-term morbidity for the patient.

Keywords: ameloblastoma; endoscopy; maxillary sinus; transnasal.