Ophthalmic complications following treatment of paranasal sinus rhabdomyosarcoma in comparison to orbital disease.

PURPOSE: To identify the type and frequency of ocular and orbital complications observed following treatment for primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the paranasal sinuses or the orbit. METHODS: An institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant retrospective chart review was conducted to identify all patients treated at one institution from 1966 to 2005 with biopsy-proven primary paranasal sinus or orbital rhabdomyosarcoma. Pretreatment, treatment, and follow-up data were collected. RESULTS: Forty-four patients (25 male) of a median age of 7.8 years (range 1.0-18.0 years) with primary paranasal sinus (17) or orbital (27) rhabdomyosarcoma were treated and followed for a median period of 5.3 years (range 0.6-32.0 years). The three most frequently observed ophthalmic complications were persistent eyelid erythema or cellulitis (12), epithelial keratitis (7), and conjunctival injection (6) in the paranasal sinus and epithelial keratitis (18), conjunctival injection (11), and cataract (10) in the orbit. Overall survival after treatment trended higher for the orbital rhabdomyosarcoma group (23 of 27) than the paranasal sinus group (9 of 17). CONCLUSIONS: The most frequently observed treatment-induced ophthalmic complications in the paranasal sinus group were manageable with minimal patient morbidity, as in the patients with orbital disease. Vision-threatening complications were infrequently encountered. Despite maximal therapy, the mortality rate was higher in the paranasal sinus rhabdomyosarcoma group than in the orbital rhabdomyosarcoma group.

Transblepharoplasty approach to sequestered disease of the lateral frontal sinus with ophthalmologic manifestations.

BACKGROUND: Sequestered disease within the lateral extent of the frontal sinus that has eroded into the orbit through the frontal sinus floor may be difficult to address with standard ESS techniques. We describe an approach to this problem using a transblepharoplasty incision concealed in the upper eyelid crease. METHODS: Five consecutive patients with lateral frontal sinus disease involving the orbit were treated with combined ESS/transblepharoplasty approach. This used an upper lid incision and elevation of a myocutaneous flap. The preexisting dehiscence in the sinus floor was exposed, permitting extraction of fungal debris and marsupialization of the mucocele. Frontal sinusotomy was performed via combined above/below technique RESULTS: The study group included 5 patients with mean age of 50 years. Two patients had post-traumatic mucopyocele, two had allergic fungal sinusitis, and one exhibited both entities. All patients had signs of ophthalmopathy: proptosis with increased IOP (5/5), gaze restriction (5/5), and decrease in visual acuity (2/5). Ophthalmologic symptoms improved postoperatively in 5/5, but 2 patients eventually required revision endoscopic surgery. No complications occurred, and incision healing was excellent in all patients. CONCLUSION: In patients with sequestered disease of the lateral frontal sinus and ophthalmologic manifestations, the transblepharoplasty approach in combination with ESS affords excellent access while preserving cosmesis.