Osteomas of the paranasal sinus are often asymptomatic and are sometimes complicated by mucoceles, but intradural extension of such a mucocele has rarely been reported.
This 67-year-old man with complaint of headache was diagnosed as having an intradural extension of a mucocele complicating an osteoma of the frontoethmoid sinus. A right frontobasal craniotomy was performed and a mucocele in the frontal sinus extending into the frontal lobe through two dural defects and the osteoma was removed completely. The patient was successfully treated without recurrence.
The importance of radical surgery for such lesions and the relationship between osteomas and mucoceles are discussed.