Primary sinonasal tuberculosis confined to the unilateral maxillary sinus.

Abstract

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis is not rare and occurs mainly in the head and neck region. Cervical tuberculous lymphadenopathy is the most common form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Sinonasal tuberculosis is known to occur very rarely due to the protective functions of sinonasal mucosa. Although some signs of sinonasal tuberculosis may be present, such as associated facial abscesses, the symptoms and signs are usually nonspecific. Clinical suspicion is important for timely diagnosis and proper management of sinonasal tuberculosis due to its rarity and nonspecific clinical presentation. We report a case of tuberculosis confined to the unilateral maxillary sinus that was first misdiagnosed as recurrent rhinosinusitis after endoscopic sinus surgery.