Orbital involvement in juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: Prevalence and treatment

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of orbital invasion by juvenile nasoangiofibroma and to discuss its surgical treatment. Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records and tomographic scans of a case series of 19 patients with juvenile nasoangiofibroma was performed. All scans were reviewed by a radiologist and an orbital surgeon. The presence of the tumor was assessed in the pterygopalatine fossa, nasal cavity, nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses, inferior orbital fissure, orbit, and middle cranial fossa. Results: The most common structures invaded were pterygopalatine fossa (100%), nasal cavity (94.7%), sphenoid sinus (84.2%), and nasopharynx (73.7%). The orbit was invaded in 6 (31.6%) patients. In 5 of these patients, the tumor extended in the orbit through the inferior orbital fissure. Four patients with orbital invasion were successfully operated with the Le Fort I approach. Conclusions: Orbital involvement is relatively common in the setting of juvenile nasoangiofibroma extension. The main route of orbital invasion is the inferior orbital fissure. The Le Fort I osteotomy is an adequate approach for managing juvenile nasoangiofibroma when it invades the orbit.