Abstract
We reported a 79 year old woman with a typical carcinoid tumor in the left ethmoid sinus. The patient consulted our hospital in 2002 with complaints of nasal obstruction and bleeding. On examination she was found to have a dark red mass filling the left nasal cavity. We performed a biopsy and the pathological diagnosis was a typical carcinoid tumor. We then performed lateral rhinotomy and removed the mass, while preserving the ethmoid skull base. The tumor recurred 8 months after surgery and the patient was treated with radiation therapy. The tumor seemed to disappear for a while, but recurred again after 8 months. To date, the patient has survived for six years with the carcinoid tumor.
A carcinoid tumor in the paranasal sinus is a rare neoplasm and only 5 cases have been reported previously in Japan. In such cases, relapses often occurred after surgery and the irradiation therapy. We considered that extended radical surgery is necessary to curatively resect paranasal sinus carcinoid tumor.
