Postoperative prevention and treatment of complications after sinus surgery

Abstract

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is currently the most effective treatment for chronic sinusitis refractory to medical therapy, with symptomatic improvements reported by approximately 90% of patients. In addition to meticulous and careful surgical technique, the management of the postsurgical patient is instrumental to optimizing success following FESS. The reported complications following FESS can be classified broadly into immediate postoperative complications such as bleeding and crusting; short-term complications such as infection, synechiae formation, and turbinate lateralization; and long-term complications such as ostial stenosis, refractory disease, and disease recurrence. This article highlights currently available data for postsurgical management strategies and briefly discusses additional techniques and tools under development for managing these complications.