Persistent hypophyseal (craniopharyngeal) canal.

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Two cases with a broad persistent hypophyseal canal connecting pituitary fossa and nasopharynx are presented. Both had nasopharyngeal surgery in early childhood and presented later with hypopituitarism. Coronal CT demonstrated the defects with no visible pituitary tissue. The spectrum of basal skull defects is discussed. Childrenwith midline nasal polyps should haveCT or MRI of the skull base prior to surgery to prevent inadvertent hypophysectomy. Persistent hypophyseal canal (PHC) is a rare congenital defect allowing the pituitary gland to present as a nasopharyngeal mass. Two cases of PHC who underwent inadvertent hypophysectomy because the diagnosis was unsuspected are pre- sented. A review of the literature shows that this problem is part of a spectrum of developmental defects of the skull base but only one other case was found with a clinical pattern similar to these two cases.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: