Study of variations of ostiomeatal complex on computed tomography scan of paranasal sinuses: a 1 - year observational study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There has been a significant shift from external and headlight sinus surgery to Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in recent times. Messerklinger's work showed that the sinuses had a predetermined mucociliary clearance pattern to their natural ostium irrespective of additional openings that may have been created into the sinuses. This philosophy of opening the natural ostium of the diseased sinus was then popularized by Stammberger and Kennedy. ESS is now accepted as the surgical management of choice for chronic sinusitis. The key underlying concept behind minimally invasive functional endoscopic sinus surgery is the ostiomeatal complex (OMC). Stammberger and Kennedy defined ostiomeatal complex as a functional unit of the anterior ethmoid complex representing the final common pathway for drainage and ventilation of the frontal, maxillary and anterior ethmoid sinuses. The advent of relatively less invasive techniques of functional endoscopic sinus surgery has provided an important role for coronal computed tomography (CT) of the paranasal sinuses, both as a diagnostic tool and as an important part of preoperative planning.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the profile of variation in Ostiomeatal complex using Computed Tomography of Paranasal Sinuses in patients attending ENT OPD in Dr. KLES Prabhakar Kore Hospital and MRC, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.