Description

Endoscopic surgeries for chronic rhinosinusitis and sinonasal malignancies Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is the primary approach used today for the surgical treatment of chronic sinusitis. It is the procedure used to remove blockages in the sinuses. These blockages may cause pain, drainage of mucus, recurrent infections, difficulty breathing or loss of smell. Patients with recurrent or chronic symptoms of sinusitis often experience: Nasal congestion Postnasal drip Facial pressure and headache Nasal obstruction Purulent drainage Hyposmia Endoscopic sinus surgery is most commonly used for treatment of inflammations and infection in the Sinuses. Some symptoms and conditions that are indicative of the need for an endoscopic sinus surgery are: Recurrent sinusitis Nasal polyposis Chronic sinusitis refractory to medical treatment Antrochoanal polyps Sinus mucoceles Removal of tumours Cerebrospinal fluid leak closure Optic nerve decompression Orbital decompression Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) Choanal atresia repair Epistaxis control Foreign body removal When endoscopic sinus surgery is needed? Generally,endoscopic sinus surgery is reserved for patients with documented rhinosinusitis, based on a thorough history and a complete physical scan, including computed tomography (CT) scan if appropriate, and in whom appropriate medical treatment has failed to work. For nasal polyposis, medical treatment alone is not potent enough to treat it. Antrochoanal polyps also require surgical removal. Cerebrospinal leaks associated with cerebrospinal rhinorrhea can be treated endoscopically, avoiding a more extensive neurosurgical external approach via craniotomy. Endoscopic approaches may also be used for ophthalmic procedures such as orbital decompression, endoscopic DCR, and optic nerve decompression for traumatic optic neuropathy.