Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
The most serious risk associated with FESS is blindness resulting from damage to the optic nerve. The chances of this complication occurring, however, are extremely low. Cerebrospinal fluid leak represents the most common major complication of FESS,...
but it occurs in only about 0.2% of cases in the Unites States. The leak is usually recognized at the time of surgery and can easily be repaired. Other less serious and rare complications include orbital hematoma and nasolacrimal duct stenosis. All of these complications are also associated with conventional sinus surgery and not only with FESS.
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During endoscopic sinus surgery, a doctor uses an endoscope to view the inner cavities of the nose (A and B). Using special instruments, the doctor opens the sinuses to alleviate problems with sinusitis (C and D). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
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Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that opens up sinus air cells and sinus ostia (openings) with an endoscope.
The use of FESS as a sinus surgical method has now become widely accepted; and the term "functional" is meant to distinguish this type of endoscopic surgery from nonendoscopic, more conventional sinus surgery procedures.
Purpose
The purpose of FESS is to restore normal drainage of the sinuses. Normal function of the sinuses requires ventilation through the ostia (mouth-like opening) and is facilitated by a mucociliary transport process that maintains a constant flow of mucus out of the sinuses. All sinuses need ventilation to prevent infection and inflammation, a condition known as sinusitis. In healthy individuals, sinus ventilation occurs through the ostia into the nose. The sinuses open into the middle meatus (curved passage in each nasal cavity) under the middle turbinate (thin, bony process that is the lower portion of the ethmoid bone in each nasal cavity), which together are known as the osteomeatal complex, the key area of the nose. The hair-like cilia direct the flow of mucus toward the ostia.
Other Information
The development of the operative plan for a type of complex procedure requires weeks of planning and extensive study of the recipient patient’s clinical exam, radiological studies, and prior operative history.
-Dr. Daniel Alam
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