Temperature measurements in the maxillary sinus of rabbits

An experimental study was designed to investigate the temperature of the maxillary sinus before and after creation of nasoantral windows and in relation to different ambient temperatures. In 10 rabbits the natural ostium was enlarged (ostioplasty) and in 10 other animals a window was created far from the ostium (antrostomy). Six rabbits, in which no surgery was performed on the nasoantral wall, served as controls. The results show that before surgery, the temperature of the sinus is kept constant even when the external temperature changes. After ostioplasty or antrostomy, the capacity of air conditioning is significantly reduced and the sinus temperature changes in correlation to the environmental temperature.