Pre-pubertal juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma with intracranial extension

Abstract

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a rare benign vascular tumor predominant in adolescent and adult young male. It represents only 0.05 to 0.5% of all head and neck neoplasms. Clinical presentations of JNA are dominated by recurrent and unprovoked epistaxis, and nasal obstruction. More rarely other unusual clinical manifestations can be observed, especially in forms invading oropharyngeal structures and skull base. Headache and exophthalmia are exceptional. The JNA occurring in the pre-pubertal period can pose a diagnostic challenge for clinicians because of their often-atypical clinical presentations, and the absence of conventional radiological features at this age. We report an original observation of JNA with endocranial extension in pre-pubertal boy revealed by persistent headache and unilateral exophthalmia.