Cureus. 2019 Feb 28;11(2):e4158. doi: 10.7759/cureus.4158.

Altafulla JJ, Prickett JT, Dupont G, Tubbs RS, Litvack Z.

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Abstract

Pituitary adenomas are well described in the literature and are frequently observed and treated in clinical practice by neurosurgeons. On the other hand, ectopic adenomas are a diagnostic enigma; a good understanding of anatomy and radiological characteristics is crucial for the successful management of such pathologies. In this paper, we describe the case of a 77-year-old woman who presented with a clival mass invading the left cavernous sinus; we also discuss the associated diagnostic techniques, approaches, imaging options, and characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

clival mass; histology; pituitary adenoma

Figure 1

T1 post-contrast axial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showing heterogenous contrast enhancement of a clival mass that invades the left cavernous sinus, encasing the internal carotid artery

Figure 2

Endoscopic view of the clival mass after dissection from the internal carotid artery (ICA)

Figure 3

Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain of the clival tumor