Hyperpneumatization of the temporal, occipital and parietal bones

Abstract

Hyperpneumatization of the temporal bone with extension into the occipital bone and even the parietal bones is a rare condition. According to a review of the literature, it mostly appears unilaterally in men and on the right side. Often it is discovered when complications like pneumatocele or pneumocephalus appear. The authors review and analyze all reported cases of hyperpneumatization, its symptoms, complications and treatment. We present a patient with extensive pneumatization found in the mastoid process, temporal bone, occipital bone and both parietal bones, who was discovered accidentally. The cause of the extension of pneumatization into the occipital and parietal bone is probably incomplete closure of the occipitomastoid synchondrosis and lambdoid and sagital sutures, which usually close in early adulthood and later, even in the 30s. Asymptomatic patients should be aware of possible complications, and in case of complications, operative therapy is often indicated.

Airhead with auras

“…Other possibilities including an epileptic origin have been considered, but the typical description of a migrainous aura and the lack of other epileptic phenomena made us to decide these should be auras. Approximately 15 cases of hyperpneumatized calvarial bones have been reported, several being related to Valsalva and Valsalvalike maneuvers [1]. A relation with visual auras has, to the best of our knowledge, been reported only once, notably a case of a 24-year-old man with an extradural pneumatocele who also performed Valsalva maneuvers [2].…”

“…A relation with visual auras has, to the best of our knowledge, been reported only once, notably a case of a 24-year-old man with an extradural pneumatocele who also performed Valsalva maneuvers [2]. Treatment approaches of hyperpneumatization of the calvarial bones range from a wait-and-scan policy or placement of an ear drum grommet in case of an extradural pneumocele to radical surgical treatment in case of subdural pneumocephalus [1,3].…”

“…Hyperpneumatization of the temporal bone with extension into calvarial bone(s) is a relatively rare disorder and, for unknown reasons, it is more prevalent in men and has a predilection for the right side of the skull [1]. The air collection may be found only on the outside of the skull, which may be observable on inspection (pneumatocele), or inside the skull, where it may be located either epidurally or, if a dural defect is present, lead to subdural air collections (pneumocephalus).…”

Chronic, otogenic, epidural pneumatocoele with delayed mass effect: case report

“…It often originates from the nasosinusal region, and less frequently from the temporal bone. 1,2 The development of otogenic pneumatocoele is favoured by mastoid hyperpneumatisation, which predisposes to the escape of air following rupture of the thin, bony walls. Even minor head trauma, or an abrupt change in middle ear pressure, may be the precipitating cause.…”

Giant Spontaneous Epidural Pneumatocele: Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Intracranial pneumatocele would be the appropriate term to apply to a situation in which an intracranial air collection becomes loculated and persists as a fixed, immobile space-occupying mass. Pneumatocele is a more rare situation that usually arises from chronic communication through a defect in a highly pneumatized mastoid (14,16).…”