A Case of Intraosseous Sphenoid Lipoma Presenting as Cluster Headache

Abstract

Intraosseous lipoma is an extremely rare benign primary bone tumor, most commonly found in the long bones of lower extremities and calcaneus. Very few cases have been reported in the skull base, and mostly noninvasive follow-up is proposed due to its indolent growth and the low possibility of malignant transforming. Surgical biopsy or treatment is needed only when the patient’s symptom is correlated with the location of the lesion. We report a rare case of symptomatic intraosseous sphenoid lipoma which presented ipsilateral retroorbital pain accompanied by watering eye and runny nose on the same side. Surgical excision led to immediate resolution of the symptoms and the tumor was pathologically confirmed. This case highlights the radiographic differential diagnosis based on the review of literature.