Narrow-band imaging in the diagnosis of vascular nasal lesions

The management of unilateral nasal lesions can sometimes be a challenge and an ordinary bioptic assessment should be avoided in order to prevent complications due to their possible vascular or meningoencephalic origin. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) endoscopy could improve the diagnosis of vascular nasal formations by enhancing the visualisation of the mucosal microvascular supply. We describe the case of a 68-year-old male patient who was brought to our attention because of a left nasopharyngeal mass that had elsewhere been unsuccessfully biopsied (with conspicuous bleeding) and assessed by means of traditional endoscopic and radiological techniques. NBI endoscopy revealed increased vasculature covering most of the mucosal surface without any features suggestive for malignancy. Subsequent angiography showed that the feeding vessel was the left sphenopalatine artery, which was embolised using 150–250 μm Contour embospheres. The mass was then completely removed surgically using an NBI-assisted endoscopic technique, and a histopathological examination revealed it was a hemangiopericytoma-like (HPCL) tumor. This case suggests the usefulness of NBI endoscopy in diagnosing unilateral vascularised nasal lesions and guiding the therapeutic approach before and during major surgery.