Transnasal Endoscopic Resection of Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma without Preoperative Embolization

Abstract

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a benign, highly vascular, and locally invasive tumor. Because the location of these tumors makes conventional surgery difficult, interest in endoscopic resection is increasing, particularly for the treatment of lesions that do not extend laterally into the infratemporal fossa. We report the results of our series of 23 patients with JNA (stage IIB or lower) who underwent transnasal endoscopic resection under hypotensive general anesthesia without preoperative embolization of the tumor. All tumors were successfully excised. The amount of intraoperative blood loss was acceptable. We observed only 1 recurrence, which was diagnosed 19 months postoperatively in a patient with a stage IIB primary tumor. We observed only 3 complications during follow-up—all synechia. We conclude that endoscopic resection of JNAs is safe and effective. The low incidence of recurrence and complications in this series indicates that preoperative embolization may not be necessary for lesions that have not undergone extensive spread; instead, intraoperative bleeding can be adequately controlled with good hypotensive general anesthesia.