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Book

Pott Puffy Tumor

Jose I. Sandoval  1 , Marc H. Hohman  2 , Orlando De Jesus  3
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Pott Puffy Tumor

Jose I. Sandoval et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

The term "Pott puffy tumor" (PPT) refers to edema of part or all of the forehead due to a subperiosteal abscess associated with frontal bone osteomyelitis (see Image. Example of a Pott Puffy Tumor). While the word "tumor" typically suggests neoplasia, in this context, it refers to swelling as one of Celsus' "4 cardinal signs of inflammation"—the other 3 being calor (heat), rubor (redness), and dolor (pain).

PPT was first described in 1760 by Sir Percivall Pott as a complication of a frontal bone fracture. Sir Percivall Pott was a prominent surgeon of the eighteenth century, known for identifying the link between chimney sweeping and scrotal cancer, as well as for describing mycobacterial infection of the spine (Pott disease) and bimalleolar ankle fractures (Pott fractures). In 1775, Pott documented a more typical case of PPT, which developed as a complication of frontal sinusitis. He also outlined its treatment through operative drainage—a method that remains a mainstay of treatment today.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Jose Sandoval declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Marc Hohman declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Orlando De Jesus declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Ravitch MM. Surgery in 1776. Ann Surg. 1977 Sep;186(3):291-300. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Skomro R, McClean KL. Frontal osteomyelitis (Pott's puffy tumour) associated with Pasteurella multocida-A case report and review of the literature. Can J Infect Dis. 1998 Mar;9(2):115-21. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joo MJ, Schapira KE. Pott's Puffy Tumor: A Potentially Deadly Complication of Sinusitis. Cureus. 2019 Dec 11;11(12):e6351. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jung J, Lee HC, Park IH, Lee HM. Endoscopic Endonasal Treatment of a Pott's Puffy Tumor. Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol. 2012 Jun;5(2):112-5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bhalla V, Khan N, Isles M. Pott's puffy tumour: the usefulness of MRI in complicated sinusitis. J Surg Case Rep. 2016 Mar 21;2016(3) - PMC - PubMed

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