Primary sinonasal ameloblastoma - a rare cause of unilateral nasal obstruction

Abstract

Introduction. Ameloblastoma is a rare, locally invasive benign jaw tumour, originating from odontogenic epithelium, and their presence in the sinonasal tract is usually due to their spread from the gnathic region of the maxilla. Primary sinonasal ameloblastoma is extremely rare, with only a handful of reported cases so far. The objective of this article was to describe a patient with a primary ameloblastoma of the right maxillary sinus and nasal cavity. Case outline. We report a case of a 67-year-old male patient with a year-long history of progressive unilateral nasal obstruction. Clinical and computed tomography examination revealed a mass in the right maxillary sinus and right nasal cavity. After an in-office biopsy under local anesthesia, which suggested the diagnosis of ameloblastoma, the patient underwent complete removal of the mass by a medial partial maxillectomy. Histopathologic analysis confirmed the diagnosis of ameloblastoma. Conclusion. Primary sinonasal ameloblastoma is clinically and radiographically similar to the more common pathology of this particular area and should be included in the differential diagnosis of the unilateral nasal obstruction. The treatment of choice is complete surgical resection. Due to the rarity of the disease, and a small number of cases described so far in the literature, there is still no consensus regarding the optimal surgical technique.