Implications of endoscopic endonasal surgery for the treatment of postoperative maxillary mucoceles

Recently, endoscopic endonasal surgery has been widely used to treat chronic sinusitis with good results being reported by many investigators. Endoscopic endonasal surgery is a technique available not only for chronic sinusitis but also for other sinus diseases including postoperative maxillary mucoceles. In this report, the indications and limitations of endoscopic endonasal surgery for the treatment of postoperative maxillary mucoceles are discussed based on our experience treating 26 such mucoceles at our clinic. The indications for endoscopic endonasal surgery include mucoceles in close contact with the lateral wall of the inferior nasal meatus and those mucoceles that can be widely opened to the middle nasal meatus. The following cases could not be treated by endoscopic endonasal surgery: mucoceles that were localized in areas distant from the nasal cavity, mucoceles in which the lateral wall of the inferior nasal meatus was bony and intensely thickened, and mucoceles that could not be sufficiently opened to the middle nasal meatus.