Unified Airway Disease: Surgical Management.

Support for the unified airway hypothesis is embedded in similarities in upper and lower airway structure, function, and cellular/extracellular compositions. The impact of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) on the unified airway is influenced by multiple factors including the underlying upper and lower airway condition(s) present and severity of pathology. Beyond improvements in subjective and objective CRS outcomes, ESS also improves clinical asthma outcomes and measures of asthma control. Emerging evidence suggests that early ESS may mitigate the risk of developing asthma in CRS patients without asthma. Comprehensive management of upper and lower airways is paramount to optimize patient outcomes.