[Clinical and performance results of functional endoscopic sinus surgery]

Our aim was to know the clinical performance and management results of Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) in Spanish hospitals. We sent a survey on the use and results of FESS to 160 Spanish public hospitals in June of 2002, obtaining a response rate of 69%. 82.9% of the interviewed hospitals carried out FESS and 17.1% of the remaining used the classic techniques of approaching the paranasal sinuses. The reported length of stay in hospital was 1.4 days for the FESS and 2.4 for the traditional surgery. The surgical time was 15 minutes shorter for the CENS, and the rate of recurrence was 16% less than for the classic surgery. As years of experience in the practice of the CENS go by, the surgical times tend to decrease, that didn't happen with the rate of recurrence. In conclusion, we consider that FESS seems to improve the analyzed clinical performance and assistential results.