Chronic maxillary sinusitis masquerading as a maxillary sinus neoplasm: A case report

Chronic inflammatory diseases of the maxillary sinus can present well-defined, expansile radiolucent features, necessitating differential diagnosis from true neoplasms. Pleomorphic adenoma, although rare, is one of the neoplasms included in the list of differential diagnoses, and it may occasionally arise in the maxillary sinus. However, inflammatory conditions such as mucoceles, postoperative maxillary cysts and chronic bacterial maxillary sinusitis can also cause thinning and expansion of the sinus walls due to prolonged obstruction. The present study describes a case of chronic maxillary sinusitis masquerading as a neoplasm in a 53-year-old man. Although the lesion was initially diagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma on incisional biopsy, histopathological examination of the entire lesion ultimately revealed it to be chronic maxillary sinusitis.