Solitary fibrous tumors of the infratemporal fossa: case series.

Abstract

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) were first described in the pleura. They are rare mesenchymal tumors of fibroblastic origin. An increasing number of SFTs has been described in the literature over the past years worldwide, particularly in the head and neck region, which is now considered the third most common site of occurrence. We report two cases of SFTs of the infratemporal fossa in two adult patients that were initially diagnosed as schwannomas on magnetic resonance imaging: one female patient with a small nodular lesion of the maxillary retromolar region and one male patient with a giant mass of the infratemporal fossa. Both cases were managed surgically using different approaches, achieving total excision of the masses. The first case has remained disease-free for four years postoperatively, while the second case is now at 1-year postop. To date, very few cases of SFTs in this region have been reported in Africa.