A Case of Cholesterol Granuloma in the Maxillary Sinus

Abstract

Cholesterol granulomas mainly occur in the middle ear in the otolaryngology region and are relatively rare in the paranasal sinuses. We experienced a case of cholesterol granuloma in the maxillary sinus. The patient was a 43-year-old female who had right cheek pain and purulent nasal discharge from about October 2015. She underwent surgery at another hospital in September 2016, but her symptoms persisted. She visited our hospital on X/Y/20XX. On MRI, a tumor-like lesion was detected in the right upper jaw sinus on a T1-weighted image. This lesion had high signal intensity on a T2-weighted image. On X + Feb Z, endoscopic modified medial maxillectomy was performed under general anesthesia. The polyp-like lesion was removed from the medial wall of the maxillary sinus. Pathological analysis indicated a hematoma under the epithelium of the mucosa, a large number of cholesterol crystals, and foreign body giant cells. These findings led to diagnosis of cholesterol granuloma. Postoperatively, the patient’s symptoms improved, and her sinus mucosa normalized.