Mark Samaha

Background: The frontal sinus is the most challenging area to address in endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Incomplete surgery or iatrogenic injury in the narrow space of the frontal recess with synechia formation can lead to recurrence or persistence of disease. The goal of this study was to identify causes of failure of endoscopic frontal sinus surgery and to determine complication rates.Methods: A cross‐sectional retrospective study was conducted. Charts and preoperative sinus computed tomography (CT) scans of patients who underwent revision frontal ESS for chronic frontal rhinosinusitis, between 2006 and 2012 were reviewed.Results: Of 829 patients who underwent ESS during the study period, 740 had the frontal recess dissected and frontal sinus opened. Of these, 66 patients had revision surgery of the frontal sinus, with a total of 109 frontal sinuses. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 52 ± 12.9 years. Forty patients were male (59.1%). The most common findings were the following: edematous or hypertrophic mucosa (92.7%); retained agger nasi cell (73.4%); neo‐osteogenesis within the frontal recess (45.9%); lateral scarring of the middle turbinate (47.7%); residual anterior ethmoid air cell (32.1.%); and residual frontal cells (24.8%).Conclusion: With the exception of mucosal disease and neo‐osteogenesis, all identified causes of failure of frontal sinus surgery are a result of surgical technique. Careful preoperative planning and meticulous and complete surgical execution are therefore critical for a successful surgical outcome in primary frontal sinus surgery.

Background: It has been recently reported that the site of attachment of Schneiderian papillomas can be predicted with high accuracy on preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans using bony osteitic changes as an indicator. The objective of this study is to evaluate, in a blinded fashion, the reliability of the osteitis sign at predicting the site of attachment of Schneiderian papillomas. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent endoscopic surgical resection for inverted papilloma (IP) or cylindrical papilloma between September 2002 and September 2009 in a tertiary care rhinology center was carried out. The preoperative sinus CT scans were collected and reviewed by a fellowship-trained and experienced head and neck radiologist who was blinded to the intraoperative findings. The radiologist attempted to identify and grade bony osteitic changes in the sinuses. The radiological findings were then correlated with the actual site of attachment reported by the surgeon in the operative report. Results: A total of 34 patients were evaluated. Six (18%) patients had a single site of osteitis and 28 (82%) were found to have multiple sites of osteitis. The sensitivity and specificity of the radiological prediction based on the degree of osteitis was found to be 74% (46.5–90.3%) and 0% (0–17%), respectively. The predictive value of the radiological localization was 41%. Conclusion: Osteitic changes are very common nonspecific findings on CT scans of patients with Schneiderian papillomas. Their presence as well as the degree of osteitis did not allow preoperative localization of tumor attachment.

Objectives: To determine the effect on patients' quality of life of functional endoscopic sinus surgery performed for chronic rhinosinusitis within a tertiary care centre in Montreal, Canada.Methods: A prospective cohort study was undertaken. Subjects were consecutive patients with a diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis who had failed medical treatment and were undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Questionnaires assessing general health outcomes (i.e. the second version of the Short Form 12 questionnaire) and disease-specific outcomes (i.e. the Chronic Sinusitis Survey) were completed pre-operatively and a minimum of three months post-operatively.Results: A total of 152 patients were enrolled over a seven-month period, of whom 120 completed the post-operative surveys. The most common co-morbidity was asthma (40 per cent). Of the 120 patients with completed questionnaires, 72 per cent reported clinical improvement, 12 per cent reported deterioration and 15 per cent remained unchanged. The average improvement in Chronic Sinusitis Survey score was 17 per cent.Conclusion: Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis achieved a significant improvement in disease-specific quality of life after functional endoscopic sinus surgery. There was no significant improvement in general health related quality of life, as measured using the Short Form 12 questionnaire.

Proteomics has been used as a tool for identification of the protein content of nasal mucus in diseased and healthy subjects. Thirty-five proteins in both chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and control groups were identified in a previous study by our group using conventional mass spectrometry analysis. Ten of these proteins were related to innate and acquired immunity and showed differences in expression between the two groups. To investigate the quantitative differential expression of specific nasal mucus proteins previously identified by our group using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry in patients with CRS with nasal polyposis compared with normal subjects. In a prospective case control study, nasal mucus from patients and control subjects was collected, desalted, resolubilized, and digested using proteolytic enzymes. Previously identified nasal mucus proteins with differential expression in CRS patients were targeted and quantitatively measured using MRM mass spectrometry. Analysis of 12 samples (6 patients and 6 controls) identified 7 of the 10 targeted proteins, many of which were related to innate and acquired immunity. Quantitative analysis showed differential expression in CRS patients compared with control subjects. A detailed analysis and characterization of the protein isolates is outlined. This is the first proteomics study of nasal mucus in CRS with polyposis using the MRM technique. The findings suggest that innate and acquired immunity may play a role in the pathophysiology of CRS. Future steps in evaluating the protein characteristics of the mucus of CRS patients are aimed at developing biomarkers and potentially targeted therapies.