Choanal stenosis: a rare complication of radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Choanal stenosis is usually a congenital anomaly in children. Acquired choanal stenosis after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a very rare pathology; only two publications report seven cases in the literature. We describe the clinical history, preoperative evaluation, surgical treatment and outcome of a case of acquired choanal stenosis after radiotherapy. The patient, a 56-year-old woman, presented with a history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (T2-NO-MO) one year before that had been successful treated with radiotherapy (68 Gy). At the end of radiotherapy, she complained of complete nasal obstruction, anosmia and hearing loss due to a bilateral serous otitis media. Bilateral complete choanal stenosis was confirmed by endoscopy and CT scan. Functional endoscopic surgery was performed, and nasal stents were left in place for 3 weeks. One year after, the patient have good airflow, and a patent nasopharynx without choanal stenosis. In conclusion, choanal stenosis is an unusual complication of radiotherapy that can be sucessfully treated with transnasal endoscopic resection. (C) 2006 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits reserves.