Mucocele in an Onodi cell with simultaneous bilateral visual disturbance

• Published in: Auris, nasus, larynx Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 199 - 202
• Main Authors: Fukuda, Yoichiro, Chikamatsu, Kazuaki, Ninomiya, Hiroshi, Yasuoka, Yoshihito, Miyashita, Motoaki, Furuya, Nobuhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.06.2006
• Subjects: Aged; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Combined Modality Therapy; Diagnosis, Differential; Endoscopic sinus surgery; Endoscopy - methods; Ethmoid Sinus - diagnostic imaging; Ethmoid Sinus - pathology; Ethmoid Sinus - surgery; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Methylprednisolone - therapeutic use; Mucocele; Mucocele - complications; Mucocele - diagnosis; Mucocele - therapy; Onodi cell; Optic Nerve - physiopathology; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures - methods; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vision Disorders - diagnosis; Vision Disorders - etiology; Vision Disorders - physiopathology; Visual Acuity - physiology; Visual disturbance; Mucocele; Onodi cell; Endoscopic sinus surgery; Visual disturbance
• ISSN: 0385-8146; 1879-1476
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anl.2005.11.024

The Onodi cell is a large pneumatized posterior ethmoid cell and closely related to optic nerve. We present an extremely rare case of retrobulbar optic neuropathy caused by mucocele in an Onodi cell. A 79-year-old man complained of headaches and simultaneous bilateral visual disturbance. A computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a mucocele in an Onodi cell, which involved bilateral optic nerves. The surgical treatment with a transnasal endoscopic approach was performed, resulting in the improving of visual acuity. The bilateral optic nerves were identified along each lateral wall into an Onodi cell accompanied with bone defect. In an Onodi cell, even if the lesion is isolated and/or small, it may be closely related to ocular symptoms. Imaging studies should be considered for the differential diagnosis because early diagnosis and prompt surgical treatment for mucocele are needed for recovery of visual impairment.