Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in unilateral sinus disease.

BACKGROUND: Unilateral sinus disease (USD) occurs in 23 % of all cases. It is believed that it is mainly associated with cancer development. Retrospective data from large rhinological centers show that the most common USD is chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), followed by mycosis, inverted papilloma and finally cancer, but only in a small percent of cases.

THE AIM OF THE STUDY: The analysis of USD in the group of patients who underwent FESS at the secondary referral center.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: The retrospective study of patients treated for USD in the Department of Otolaryngology in the Provincial Hospital in Poznan between June 2014 and June 2016. The analysis includes age, sex, the localization of lesions, histopathological and microbiological results, an extension of the surgery and treatment results.

RESULTS: Over the analyzed period of time, 415 FESS for chronic sinusitis were performed. In this group, 83 patients underwent surgery for USD. There were 35 women and 48 men.CRS was found in 48 cases, mycosis in nine cases, 12 patients were operated for non-malignant tumors, such as inverted papilloma (9), osteoma (2) and fibrosis tumor(1); seven patients had a choanal polyp and two of them had a foreign body in maxillary sinus - a tooth root lying loose. Four patients were diagnosed with a hypoplastic maxillary sinus and one patient suffered from frontal sinus pyocele. One side endoscopic opening of all sinuses was performed in the group with CRS, endoscopic medial maxillectomy was conducted in patients with inverted papilloma, and an isolated opening of the affected sinus was performed in the cases with mycosis.

CONCLUSIONS: USD must be always suspected of malignant degeneration until proven otherwise. Endoscopic sinus surgery with the use of angled scope allows for the removal of even very extensive lesions. In our opinion, the extent of operation is determined by the nature of pathology. While extensive surgery is recommended in patients with inverted papilloma, a limited procedure should be performed in those with isolated mycosis.