[Functional endoscopic surgery of sinusal mucocele].

The treatment of paranasal sinus mucoceles must assure complete removal and prevention of recurrence. In order to clarify the precise indications for endoscopic management, a retrospective study was undertaken on 16 patients with paranasal sinus mucoceles treated by this method. All of the patients underwent endoscopic exploration with or without an associated bicoronal approach. The follow-up period varied between 3 months and 46 months with a mean of 24. The results were considered satisfactory if the patient's symptoms disappeared and follow-up endoscopy revealed persistence of sinus permeability. Functional endoscopic surgery can be considered as an alternative method in treatment of sinus mucoceles. Only mucoceles confined to the lateral wall of the frontal sinus, and the extended mucoceles, seem to be an out of the way place to endoscopic sinus surgery alone. In these cases, the access has to be completed by an external approach. Concerning adequate recanalization of the nasofrontal duct, results seem encouraging, however a long-term follow-up is necessary to obtain an accurate assessment of the results.