Balloon catheter sinusotomy: one-year follow-up--outcomes and role in functional endoscopic sinus surgery.
OBJECTIVE
The primary objective was to assess the long-term effectiveness of balloon catheter sinusotomy.


METHODS
Patients who had sinus ostia dilated with balloon catheters were prospectively evaluated 1 year after surgery with nasal endoscopy, a CT scan, and the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-20).


RESULTS
Sixty-six patients (202 sinuses) were examined. One hundred seventy-two of 202 sinus ostia (85%) were endoscopically patent, 1 percent (2/202) were nonpatent, and ostial patency could not be determined by endoscopy in 28 of 202 (14%). In these "indeterminate" sinuses, the CT scans were normal in 13, implying functional patency in 91.6 percent of sinuses (185/202). Sinus CT scan scores were 1.95 at 1 year versus 8.89 at baseline (P < 0.001), and 1-year SNOT-20 scores (0.91) were significantly improved from baseline (2.14, P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Balloon catheter sinusotomy results were durable over the study period, showing long-term effectiveness.
Kuhn
Frederick A
FA
Georgia Nasal and Sinus Institute, Savannah, GA 31404, USA. docsinus@aol.com
Church
Christopher A
CA
Goldberg
Andrew N
AN
Levine
Howard L
HL
Sillers
Michael J
MJ
Vaughan
Winston C
WC
Weiss
Raymond L
RL
D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019723:Endoscopes; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome