Endoscopic Management of 108 Sinus Mucoceles

OBJECTIVES/BACKGROUND: Traditional teaching has emphasized the need for complete removal of sinus mucoceles to achieve a cure. However, with the introduction of endoscopic sinus surgical instruments and techniques, there has been a trend toward transnasal endoscopic management of sinus mucoceles. The aim of this study is to establish the efficacy of endoscopic management of sinus mucoceles. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 1988 and 2000, 103 patients with 108 paranasal sinus mucoceles were treated endoscopically. This series includes 66 frontal and frontoethmoid, 17 ethmoid, 7 sphenoethmoid, 12 sphenoid, and 6 maxillary mucoceles. Ninety patients (83.3%) had intraorbital extension and 85 of them presented with some degree of proptosis or eye displacement. Sixty patients (55.5%) had erosion of the skull base with varying degrees of intracranial extension of the mucocele. Follow- up ranged from 1 to 131/2 years with a median of 4.6 years. INTERVENTION: All patients underwent endoscopic-wide marsupialization of the mucocele cavity. Stents were used in frontal mucoceles only. RESULTS: Recurrence of a frontal mucocele was seen in 1 patient (0.9%). In 5 patients, out of 23 patients who presented with massive pansinus polyposis in addition to the mucocele, recurrent polyposis required revision surgery. However, the mucoceles did not recur in those patients. CONCLUSIONS: There is increasing evidence in the literature that endoscopic management of sinus mucoceles results in long-term control with recurrence rates at or close to 0%. Rhinologic surgeons should consider the endoscopic technique as the surgical treatment of choice.