Review of endoscopic frontal sinus surgery

Endoscopic sinus surgery is performed for patients who have chronic or acute sinusitis that persists for more than six weeks after maximum medical therapy has been tried.

A new study presented at the 2007 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO reviews the levels of evidence in the otolaryngology literature that support the efficacy of endoscopic approaches to treat frontal sinus disease. The study reviewed 23 papers that reported on the outcome of endoscopic approaches to treat frontal sinus diseases. Despite the mainstream acceptance of the surgery, the analysis determined that the majority of published papers had a small sample size, short follow-up duration, and provided low evidence levels.

Results from the study indicate that endoscopic frontal sinus surgery may offer a long-term cure, patients should be counseled regarding the potential of failure and need of revision surgery. Long-term follow-up is also important since complications (such as recurrent disease or the formation of mucocele) can develop several years after the surgery.