More articles from Head and Neck Imaging

Scleritis is a rare vision-threatening condition that can occur isolated or in association with other orbital abnormalities and whose etiology is typically inflammatory/noninfectious, either idiopathic or in the context of systemic disease. The authors analyzed 11 cases of scleritis in which CT and/or MR imaging were performed during the active phase of disease and assessed the diagnostic utility of these techniques. The most important imaging findings of scleritis were scleral enhancement, scleral thickening, and focal periscleral cellulitis. MR imaging is the recommended imaging technique.

This case series presents 18 patients with primary and secondary malignant lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct tumors and their pattern of tumor spread. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histology and, in 15/18 patients tumor involved both the lacrimal sac and duct at the time of diagnosis. In 11/16 patients on CT, the nasolacrimal bony canal was smoothly expanded without erosive changes. Tumor was not observed solely within the nasolacrimal duct in any patient. Only 1 patient presented with nodal metastasis and there was no intracranial tumor extension or perineural tumor spread. The authors conclude that malignant lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct tumors tend to expand the nasolacrimal bony canal, rather than erode it. CT was superior to MR imaging in characterizing expansion versus erosion of the nasolacrimal bony canal.