2023 Volume 69 Issue 2 Pages 116-123
An 18-year-old male patient had developed epileptic seizures with loss of consciousness 3 years earlier, and despite subsequent drug treatment, he still had recurrent epileptic seizures. Imaging studies revealed a meningoencephalocele with protrusion of the temporal lobe from the middle cranial fossa to the lateral fossa of the sphenoid sinus. Since this was thought to be the focus of the temporal lobe epilepsy, he was admitted to our hospital for resection of the meningoencephalocele. The patient underwent transnasal endoscopic resection of the meningoencephalocele in the lateral fossa of the sphenoid bone, followed by multilayer skull base reconstruction using a pedicled middle turbinate mucosal (MT) flap. Postoperatively, the epileptic seizures disappeared, and the patient has recovered without cerebrospinal fluid leakage or wound complications. If the area is localized near the sphenopalatine foramen, such as the lateral fossa of the sphenoid sinus, an MT flap can be used instead of a nasal septal mucosal flap. Furthermore, by using a minimal transpterygoid approach and preserving the sphenopalatine artery and its branch, the middle turbinate artery, it was possible to use the MT flap during skull base reconstruction.
