Effectiveness of FESS in Smell Improvement of Sinusitis Patients

The aim of this research was to verify the effect of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) on olfactory dysfunction in patients who suffer from chronic rhinosinusitis. We enrolled prospective consecutive patients at a tertiary institution who were undergoing FESS; for these patients prolonged medical therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis had failed. Patients were asked to grade their olfactory dysfunction from 1 to 5 with 1 representing lack of any smell function and 5 representing a completely normal sense of smell. Moreover, the pre- and postoperative smell identification test of the University of Pennsylvania was performed for all participating patients. In addition, data including computed tomography scores, nasal endoscopy, and the presence or absence of asthma as well as smoking habits were recorded and analyzed. Patients were followed at least 1 year after surgery. Data were collected on 89 patients who had undergone sinus surgery. Postoperative olfactory function was 77% improved for all subjects as a group. Higher involvement of sinus in computed tomography correlated with poorer results in olfactory UPSIT40 score. Patients' olfaction was significantly related to polyp pathology, duration of disease, age, smoking habits and history of asthma. A variety of patients' characteristics have impact on olfactory outcome of sinusitis patients after FESS.