Endoscopic Repair with Above and Below Technique of Recurrent Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak from the Posterior wall of Frontal Sinus: Case Report

ABSTRACT

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea can be caused by head trauma, brain or sinus surgery, or neoplastic sinonasal disease. There are many diverse techniques for repairing skull base defects, and recently there has been a shift from using external approaches to endoscopic approaches. The reported success rate after endoscopic repair is 97%, but CSF rhinorrhea may recur in some cases. Recently, we witnessed one case of recurrent CSF rhinorrhea from the posterior wall of the frontal sinus after a traffic accident. The patient was a 48-year-old male and had recurrent CSF rhinorrhea, severe pneumocephalus and mental change even after a CSF leakage repair operation was performed by the neurosurgeon using the periosteal flap. We successfully treated recurrent frontal CSF rhinorrhea with fat graft and mucosal graft, using the above and below approach with the guidance of a navigation system.