title: [Frontal mucocele: open surgery].
abstract: This work presents 13 cases of frontal mucoceles, 9 with endo-orbital extension. All were treated with 'open surgery': 11 using a fronto-orbital approach, 2 with a bicoronal Cairns-Unterberger approach. Four patients had recurrent mucoceles 1-20 years after the previous surgery. In one case there was an association with frontal osteoma. In 10 cases, conservative treatment was applied through repermeabilization of the infundibular region through an external, endonasal pathway and positioning of a nasal sinus drainage tube (kept in place for 4 weeks). In the remaining 3 cases, the sinus cavity was obliterated with autologous abdominal fat. This choice was made because of the presence of osteomyelitic foci, in one case mucopioceles, or by the widespread dural exposure encountered during the course of surgery. Two cases of post-operative sinus reinfection were encountered: one underwent surgical revision, the other was an orbital site recurrence arising 7 years after previous surgical obliteration of the frontal sinus. The esthetic result was unsatisfactory in 2 patients treated with a trans-facial approach. Ten patients were disease free after an average 56 months of follow-up. Although functional endoscopic surgery undoubtedly makes it possible to achieve excellent results in the treatment of most sinus mucoceles, open surgery remains a valid procedure in frontal mucoceles with orbital and/or endocranial extension and in cases where the district anatomy is unfavorable for a purely endonasal approach. The indications and limitations of open surgery are critically discussed in the light of personal experience and current literature.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Otorinolaringoiatrica, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia di Novara, Università del Piemonte Orientale.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aluffi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005626:Frontal Sinus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009078:Mucocele / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D009915:Orbit / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D012008:Recurrence; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed