Corresponding author:Dr Ciré Ndiaye, Professor of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, ENT department of FANN hospital, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Fann Teaching Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
We report the case of a 14-year-old child who presented a unilateral nasal obstruction associated with purulent rhinorrhea. A
CT scan of the sinuses showed hyperdense formations filling the sinuses. Endoscopic surgery was used to remove the fungal balls
like a tumor.
A 14-year-old patient with no particular pathological history
consulted for a left nasal obstruction that had been progressively
worsening for 2 years. The patient also complained of left purulent
rhinorrhea associated with homolateral epistaxis.
ENT examination revealed:
1. a friable endonasal mass obstructing the left nasal cavity.
2. homolateral purulent rhinorrhea.
3. left suborbital oedema.
The lymph nodes were free. A CT scan of the sinuses revealed
a mucoid filling with macrocalcifications in the left maxillary and
sphenoidal sinuses (Figure 1). Immune response was normal. Biopsy
of the endonasal mass showed an inflammatory polyp. The
patient underwent endoscopic surgery. Endoscopy of the left nasal
cavity revealed polyps which, after removal, revealed an accumulation
and dense conglomeration of fungal hyphae in the left maxillary,
ethmoidal and sphenoidal sinuses (Figure 2). The maxillary,
ethmoidal and sphenoidal sinuses were opened wide. The post-op
erative period was uneventful. After 4 months’ follow-up, there was
no recurrence.
The most common form of fungal rhinosinusitis is sinonasal
fungus ball which usually presents in adults with normal immunity
where maxillary sinus being the most involved site [1, 2]. Moreover,
there is female predominance and those of older age as demonstrated
in previous studies [3]. It is rare in children. Unilateral signs
such as nasal obstruction, purulent rhinorrhea and facial pain are
the main complaints of patients.
A CT scan of the sinuses is the imaging of choice, showing a hyperdense
calcified formation within a hypodense sinus filling with
osteosclerosis of the sinus walls. In our case, the conglomeration of
the different calcific formations gave this pseudo tumoral appearance
(Figure 2). Treatment was surgical, with removal of the fungal
bullets. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is the definitive approach
for fungal ball with high success and low morbidity rates
[4, 5, 6].
Figure 1: Macrocalcifications in the left maxillary and ethmoidal sinus.