Endoscopic Management of Chronic Frontal Sinusitis: Prospective Quality of Life Analysis

Previous studies of endoscopic frontal sinus surgery have been primarily retrospective and focused on symptom relief only.

To prospectively assess the impact of endoscopic frontal sinus surgery on frontal sinus ostium patency and disease-specific quality of life as measured by the Rhinosinusitis Disability Index (RSDI).

A 60-patient cohort with chronic frontal sinusitis (100 diseased frontal sinuses) was prospectively evaluated using the RSDI, computed tomography (CT) imaging, and endoscopic examination. Image-guided endoscopic frontal sinusotomy (Draf 2a) was performed in each case. Patients were assessed with RSDI and endoscopic assessment at least 6 months postoperatively.

At a mean follow-up of 10 months, endoscopic assessment revealed patent frontal recesses in 90 of 100 frontal sinuses (90%), with significant improvement in the total RSDI score (41.98 ± 26.48 preoperatively to 17.15 ± 15.66 postoperatively) as well as each of its physical, emotional, and functional subscales from 16.3 ± 9.03, 12.23 ± 10.55, 13.45 ± 9.59 preoperatively to 5.95 ± 5.71, 5.55 ± 5.66, 5.65 ± 5.72 postoperatively, respectively. Similar improvement was seen in patients with asthma, polyps, and those undergoing revision sinus surgeries.

With frontal recess mucosal preservation and meticulous postoperative endoscopic surveillance, endoscopic frontal sinusotomy results in high rates of frontal sinus ostium patency with significant improvement in quality of life.