The versatile midface degloving approach

Abstract

The exposure obtained using the degloving approach is superb and the absence of resultant facial scar or deformity provides a dramatic new addition to the otolaryngologist's surgical repertoire. The advantages of the degloving technique in exposure of the midface, nasal cavities, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, skull base, and clivus have led to its increasing importance in the otolaryngology literature. Within 2 years of the technique's introduction in our department, it had been used 48 times for a wide variety of problems, including inverting papilloma, juvenile angiofibroma, chordoma and selected cases of fungal disease of the sinuses. This article describes the procedure, reports the results from a panel of 48 patients, and discusses potential complications. The authors' experience with this procedure indicates that it should become a procedure of choice for management of inverting papilloma and juvenile angiofibroma, as well as a major alternative method in many other circumstances.