Resección del tabique intersinusal frontal para el manejo de sinusitis frontal crónica unilateral / Frontal Intersinus Septum Takedown (FISST) as management of chronic unilateral frontal sinusitis

La sinusitis frontal crónica es un problema complejo, de difícil manejo quirúrgico debido a la anatomía del seno frontal y el alto índice de recidiva posquirúrgica. La resección del tabique intersinusal ha sido descrita escasamente en la literatura, pero es una técnica sencilla que aprovecha el drenaje del seno contralateral sano, evitando intervenir directamente el ostium comprometido, en especial en casos de estenosis u obliteración que probablemente se reproducirán después de permeabilizarlos mediante otras técnicas. En este artículo describimos un caso clínico, la técnica quirúrgica utilizada y sus resultados en una paciente con múltiples cirugías de senos paranasales previas, tanto por vía endoscópica como abiertas, con buen resultado posoperatorio. Además realizamos una revisión de la literatura pertinente.

Chronic frontal sinusitis is a complex issue and its surgical management is difficult due to the anatomy of the frontal sinus and the high rate of recurrence after surgery. Resection of the intersinus septum has been scarcely described in the literature, but is a simple technique that takes advantage of the drainage of the healthy contralateral sinus, avoiding the direct intervention of the compromised ostium, especially in cases of stenosis or obliteration that would probably reproduce after permeabilization by other techniques. In this article we present a case report, the surgical technique that was chosen and the results in a patient with multiple previous sinus surgeries, both open and endoscopic, with a good postoperative outcome. Also, we provide a review of the relevant literature.

Neurosurgical Approaches to and through the Frontal Sinus using Osteoplastic Frontal Sinusotomy

OBJECTIVE: The frontal sinus is frequently a troublesome anatomical obstacle to gain access to the medial anterior cranial base. Surgical approaches to and through the frontal sinus using osteoplastic frontal sinusotomy provide significant advantages to the treatment of lesions of the medial anterior cranial base in addition to the frontal sinus itself. However, appropriate management is necessary to avoid postoperative complications such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage, infection, mucocele formation, and deformity of the forehead. METHODS: The advantages and shortcomings of the approach along with the surgical technique are reported based on our clinical experience with pertinent literature review. The approach using the osteoplastic frontal sinusotomy was applied to two cases of osteoma in the frontal sinus, seven cases of craniofacial tumors, a case of chordoma in the sphenoid and clivus, and two cases of intradural lesions in the anterior cranial fossa. The frontal sinus was managed in such a way as to prevent the postoperative complications. RESULTS: All patients underwent gross total resection of the tumors. With a mean follow-up of 26 months, there were no postoperative complications related to frontal sinus violation. CONCLUSION: The neurosurgical approaches via the frontal sinus using osteoplastic frontal sinusotomy are versatile for various lesions of the anterior cranial base in patients with large frontal sinuses. In situations that the frontal sinus have to be violated to approach medial anterior cranial base, the osteoplastic frontal sinusotomy provides such advantages as optimal frontal sinus control to prevent postoperative complications; increases viewing angle with superior trajectory from nasofrontal suture; lower incidence of pnemocephalus due to minimal dural exposure; and excellent cosmesis without frontal burr holes.