Repair of frontal sinus fractures: clinical and radiological long-term outcomes

The long-term clinical and radiological outcomes of patients surgically treated for frontal sinus fracture were assessed.

A retrospective, single-centre analysis was conducted of patients treated for frontal sinus fracture in a tertiary trauma centre between 2000 and 2017. Patients who underwent surgical repair for frontal sinus fracture followed by clinical and radiographical evaluation for at least six months were included.

Of 338 patients admitted with frontal sinus fracture, 77 were treated surgically. Thirty patients met the inclusion criteria for long-term follow-up. The average follow-up duration was 37 months (range, 6-132 months). Reconstruction, obliteration and cranialisation of the frontal sinus fracture were performed in 14, 9 and 7 patients, respectively. Two patients with a reconstructed frontal sinus and one with an obliterated frontal sinus developed mucoceles. One patient developed forehead disfigurement following obliteration.

Long-term complications of frontal sinus repair using the chosen repair techniques are rare, but patients need to be made aware of these potential complications.