Nasal centripetal endoscopic sinus surgery.

OBJECTIVES: My aim in this article is to report 26 years of experience in order to evaluate the applicability and efficiency of centripetal dissection in intranasal ethmoid sinus surgery. METHODS: I performed a retrospective review of 2,500 patients treated in the Felippu Institute, São Paulo, over the 26-year period from 1984 to July 2010. All of the patients underwent intranasal ethmoid sinus surgery with the centripetal technique. Before surgery, an otolaryngological examination, nasal endoscopy, and computed tomographic scans with axial, coronal, and sagittal projections were performed. All surgeries were carried out under general anesthesia and with the help of a surgical microscope or (after 1997) a rigid 30 degrees endoscope. The surgical technique required a standard endoscopic sinus surgery set. The complications of intranasal ethmoid sinus surgery were recorded and classified as intraoperative, short-term, or long-term. RESULTS: I observed an intraoperative complication (cerebrospinal fluid leak) in 4 patients. There were no cases of periorbital damage. I recorded no short-term or long-term complications. All of the intraoperative complications were resolved during surgery. CONCLUSIONS: With the use of this technique, the surgeon can precisely identify the position of the surgical instrument without losing his or her orientation, and thereby significantly reduce the risk of complications.

Endoscopic transnasal cauterization of the anterior ethmoidal artery.

CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, the technique described can be applied independently according to the specific patient's anatomy and disease, allowing simple, easy, and safe identification of the anterior ethmoidal artery (AEA). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide the anatomic rationale for endoscopic cauterization of the AEA and to present our surgical approach to AEA in the treatment of severe nasal bleeding. METHODS: A retrospective study reviewed 300 endoscopic transnasal AEA cauterizations, over a 20-year period from 1991 to July 2010, at the Instituto Felippu, Sao Paolo, Brazil. All surgeries were carried out under general anesthesia and with the help of a rigid 30° endoscope. RESULTS: The AEA was identified in all the patients treated. In 299 patients we found the AEA located at the level of the horizontal portion of the frontal bone into the anterior ethmoidal canal; in 88 (29.4%) of these patients the canal bone was partially open and in 211 (70.6%) it was completely closed. In only one patient, we found a dehiscent AEA. No patients presented short-term failure and/or long-term failure.

Endoscopic treatment of cerebrospinal fluid leaks with the use of lower turbinate grafts: a retrospective review of 125 cases.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic transnasal approaches to the skull base have revolutionized the treatment of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistulae, making repair less invasive and more effective compared with craniotomy or extracranial techniques. AIM: This study evaluated, retrospectively, the results of endoscopic repair of dural defects with the use of mucoperiostal grafts taken from the lower turbinate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1997 and January 2007, 125 cases of anterior skull base CSF fistulae were treated endoscopically at the Instituto Felippu de Otorrinolaringologia, Sao Paolo, Brazil, and at the Department of Otolaryngology of the University Hospital "Ospedali Riuniti", Foggia, Italy. Fistula closure was achieved by overlay apposition of a lower turbinate mucoperiostal graft fixated with fibrin glue and Surgicell. RESULTS: The etiology of the fistula was accidental trauma in 41 cases, iatrogenic trauma in 29, skull base tumour in 12, and spontaneous in 43. The site of the defect was the sphenoid sinus in 43 patients, the cribriform plate in 42, the anterior ethmoid roof in 21, the posterior ethmoid roof in 17, and the posterior wall of the frontal sinus in 2. The success rate at first attempt was 94.4%; the 7 cases of postoperative recurrent CSF leakage involved patients presenting with spontaneous fistula and elevated intracranial pressure; 5 of these had a body-mass index > 30 and 3 suffered from diabetes mellitus. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our hands, the success rate of endoscopic fistula repair was high, even in defects larger than 2 cm. Success rates may be further improved with accurate diagnosis of elevated intracranial pressure, a contributing factor to failure of spontaneous fistula repair.