Dacron prosthesis in frontal sinus surgery.

This is a report of 34 cases of chronic frontal sinusitis in which a modified Lynch external frontal sinusotomy was performed successfully, using a Dacron Woven Arterial Graft (Bard) to maintain a naso‐frontal communication. In none of the patients was it necessary to remove the prosthesis later. The patients have been generally symptom‐free for periods up to 17 years after the surgery. It is proposed that whereas the Goodale osteoplastic obliterative operation is the procedure of choice in the presence of relatively low‐grade infection, it is less satisfactory in patients with uncontrolled infection; also, in those instances of pan‐sinusitis, wherein the ethmoid labyrinth is infected or involved by a mucocele, this technique is preferred rather than combining an osteoplastic frontal operation with a transantral ethmoidectomy as has been recommended. From the patient's point of view, the postoperative complaints registered with this Dacron tube technique are occasionally bothersome crusting, odor, and discharge. These symptoms have been easily relieved by short courses of antibiotic therapy.