Clinical implications of rhinosinusitis detected by preoperative computed tomography for endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery
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Updated: May 22, 2026
Endoscopic Endonasal Trans-sphenoidal Approach: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pituitary Adenomas
Published on: January 17, 2018
Jin-Young Min1, Seung-Kyu Chung, Hyo Yeol Kim
1Department of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Conclusions:
Rhinosinusitis detected by preoperative osteomeatal unit computed tomography (OMU CT) may not increase the incidence of postoperative central nervous system (CNS) infections.
Objectives:
To evaluate the safety of endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery in patients who had rhinosinusitis detected by preoperative OMU CT.
Methods:
A total of 107 patients who underwent endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal pituitary surgery were enrolled. The presence of rhinosinusitis and the location of involved sinuses were assessed by preoperative OMU CT. The extent of pituitary tumors was assessed by preoperative sellar MRI. The occurrence of intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage and postoperative central nervous system (CNS) complications were analyzed using the medical records. The correlations between these variables and postoperative CNS complications were examined.
Results:
After pituitary surgery, postoperative CNS complications occurred in four patients (3.7%). Twenty-eight patients (26.2%) had findings of rhinosinusitis on preoperative OMU CT. Of the 28 patients, 8 had rhinosinusitis in the anterior sinuses and 20 in the posterior sinuses. Intraoperative CSF leakage occurred in eight patients (7.5%). The occurrence of intraoperative CSF leakage showed a significant correlation with the incidence of postoperative CNS complications (p = 0.003) but not with the presence of rhinosinusitis (p = 0.134). Although not statistically significant, patients with rhinosinusitis in the posterior ethmoidal and/or sphenoidal sinuses tended to have higher incidences of postoperative CNS complications (p = 0.057).
