Premium
Endoscopic management of frontal sinus disease
Author(s) -
Schaefer Steven D.,
Close Lanny G.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-199002000-00010
Subject(s) - frontal sinus , medicine , surgery , ostium , sinus (botany) , sinusitis , ablation , endoscopy , botany , biology , genus
Depending on the pathologic process, the treatment of frontal sinus disease has consisted of obliteration or ablation of the sinus, or restoration of drainage into the nose. Intranasal endoscopic enlargement of the frontal recess and ostium, and removal of disease from the medial aspect of the frontal sinus offers a minimally invasive alternative to previous operations in selected patients. To better understand the indications, limitations, and potential problems with this operation, our experience with endoscopic frontal sinusotomy in 36 patients over a 30‐month period is reported. During the follow‐up period, 21 patients had complete resolution of all symptoms, 11 patients were improved but had at least one episode of sinusitis or headache post‐operatively, and 3 patients were worse, 2 of whom required frontal sinus obliteration for control of disease. Although endoscopic frontal sinusotomy appears to be a useful alternative to traditional frontal sinus procedures in selected patients, the reader is cautioned that such surgery is technically difficult and has not yet stood the test of time required of any frontal sinus operation.