title: Efficacy of the modified endoscopic frontal sinus surgery for recurrent chronic frontal sinusitis.
abstract: To modify the endoscopic frontal sinus surgery and improve the therapeutic effect of recurrent chronic frontal sinusitis (RCFS). Eighty-five patients with RCFS were divided into two groups. Endoscopic frontal sinus surgery through an approach of Frontomaxillary Process-Agger Nasi, a modified Draf IIb procedure, was carried out in 51 patients (Group A), and conservative medication was applied in 34 patients as control (Group B). The therapeutic effect was prospectively evaluated with statistically validated measures of sinusitis-specific quality of life, sino-nasal outcome test-20 questionnaire (SNOT-20). Compared with pre-treatment, the average total score of SNOT-20 in RCFS patients was significantly decreased at the time of 6, 12 months after modified endoscopic frontal sinus surgery and medical treatments (p < 0.05). However, the total score of SNOT20 was significantly lower in group A than group B at the same period of the follow-up after treatments (p < 0.05). The overall efficacy evaluated by patients' self showed that the rate of "much improved" and "improved" was respectively 68.6 and 17.6 % in group A, and significantly better than group B (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the frontal sinus patency rate in group A was 85 %, and significantly higher than group B (p < 0.001). Endoscopic frontal sinus surgery through an approach of Frontomaxillary Process-Agger Nasi, a modified Draf IIb procedure, is an effective procedure to treat the RCFS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Yanhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Tiansheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Heqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Guangxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China.
authors.forename: Guolin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tan
keywords: Endoscopy; Frontal sinusitis; Sinus surgery