Drainage of a Pterygopalatine Fossa Abscess With Chronic Sinusitis via an Endoscopic Nasal Approach

Abstract

The pterygopalatine fossa is a clinically inaccessible space deep in the face, and reports of pterygopalatine fossa abscesses are rare. The authors present the case of a 63-year-old woman presenting with a severe headache owing to an abscess involving the pterygopalatine fossa. On a computed tomography scan, inflammation of the right pterygopalatine fossa associated with right maxillary sinusitis and periapical inflammation and a cystic lesion around the tooth were observed. After administering appropriate antibiotics, the headache improved considerably, and endoscopic nasal surgery resulted in adequate abscess drainage. To the authors' knowledge, this case study is one of the few reporting the successful treatment of an abscess in the pterygopalatine fossa through an endoscopic transnasal approach.