Nasal glioma : a case report and literature review

Abstract EN

Nasal glioma (also known as nasal glial heterotopia) has been used to describe a congenital benign tumor of the nasal region containing neural tissue.

It arises from failure of closure of foramen caecum at about the third week of gestation.

The patient described in this report is an 18 months old girl who presented with a nasal bridge swelling for three months.

The differential diagnosis included nasal encephalocele, nasal dermoid and epidermoid cysts.

All are due to failure of ectoderm and neuroectoderm embryologic separation.

CT scan and MRI imaging can be used to look for probable concomitant intracranial tumors and the existence of a connection between nasal tumor and the brain.

Surgical resection is the usual method of managing such pathologies.

In this case, an open rhinoplasty approach was used to resect this mass after the radiologic evaluation was complete.