Nasal endoscopic repair of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea

The surgical management of Cerebro-spinal Fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea has been modified these last years due to the improvement of endoscopic sinus surgery techniques allowing the treatment of selective dural tears by the endonasal route. Over a period of 6 years, 27 patients with CSF rhinorrhea were operated on by the endonasal approach under optical guidance. CSF rhinorrhea was due, in 20 cases, to surgical iatrogenic trauma, in 4 cases to head injury, and in 1 case it was secondary to a conservative medical treatment of a pituitary adenoma. In 2 cases the cause was unknown. The average follow-up in this series was 24.7 months. The technique used was successful in 22 patients (81.5%). Considering these results and others reported in the literature, we think the use of the endonasal approach with optical guidance should always be considered as a valuable alternative to open surgery and should be discussed in all cases of CSF rhinorrhea with neurosurgeons.