A case of meningoencephalocele in the nasal cavity 6 years after skull base fracture

Excerpt

Meningoencephalocele is common in head trauma, usually accompanied by cerebrospinal fluid leakage and may even be life-threatening due to secondary intracranial infection [1]. Based on statistics, under the influence of physical factors such as traffic accidents, falls from heights and heavy objects hitting the head, there are approximately 822 cases of traumatic brain injury amongst 100,000 people each year [2]. After craniocerebral trauma, there is often complications of skull fracture and 66 cases of skull fracture were found in the CT analysis of 109 patients [3]. Skull fractures include closed fractures and open fractures. Skull base fractures are internal open fractures often accompanied by rupture of the dura mater, intracranial gas and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Meningoencephalocele that appears immediately after injury is often evaluated and can be effectively treated. There are various successful surgical methods, including endoscopic surgery and craniotomy [4‐7]. Meningoencephalocele in the nasal cavity is a rare disease that can be found with sphenoid fractures, which may include symptoms such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage and lead to secondary intracranial infection. For patients with skull base fractures, conservative treatment measures are usually taken and the long-term incidence of this complication is ignored because cerebrospinal fluid stops leaking and no intracranial infection symptoms occur. The cranial fossa lamina becomes fragile after a skull fracture, and under the action of the force from the brain in the extracranial direction, fracture fragments will collapse and be absorbed in the same direction as the fracture, resulting in the continuous development of this disease, which is only identified when complications such as cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea or symptoms of meningitis occur [8, 9]. …