title: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery--a retrospective analysis of 115 children and adolescents with chronic rhinosinusitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is not frequently performed in children. The aim of our retrospective analysis was to determine symptoms, surgical extent, complications and outcome of operated children.
  
  
  METHODS
  For a period from 1994 to 2004 the clinical records of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, LMU Munich, Germany, were screened for pediatric FESS procedures. Subsequently, a retrospective chart review was performed in all cases. For assessment of outcome, symptom- and quality of life-related questionnaires were sent out to all patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  115 children had a FESS procedure due to CRS, 77 were boys and 38 girls. The response rate of the questionnaires was 64% (73 of 115); the mean follow up of these was 5.4 (+/-1.8) years. 76% of the patients reported an improvement of their chief symptoms and 71% of their general quality of life. The overall quality of life had improved significantly (p<0.01) on VAS. In CRS patients nasal obstruction was completely relieved in 62.3%, facial pain in 65.5% and postnasal drip in 72.5%. Improvement of primary nasal symptoms (PNS) of CRS in patients with CF, asthma or allergies as well as in youngsters who had started or continued to smoke 35 out of 73 (48%) was significantly less.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-assessment after FESS showed in 76% improvement of chief symptoms in children with CRS. Besides known negative prognostic factors for long-term outcome as CF, asthma, nasal polyps, allergies and previous surgery, smoking was correlated with less favourable improvement.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Maximilians-University, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Munich, Germany. vanessa.siedek@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Siedek
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stelter
authors.forename: Christian S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berghaus
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leunig
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009093:Mucus / Q000378:metabolism; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome