Management of Sphenoidal Sinus Lesions by Septal-assisted Approach: Surgical Skills and Advantages

Summary： The aim of this study was to develop a less invasive trans-septal approach for the endo- scopic management of sphenoid sinus lesions. We performed a septal-assisted surgical procedure for endoscopic sphenoidectomy in 38 patients with isolated or combined sphenoidal sinus lesions, including fungal balls, mucoceles, purulent cystic sphenoidal sinusitis, etc. The posterior portion of the nasal sep- turn became flexible after removal of the vomer and the sphenoidal rostrum. The superior portion of the common meatus was expanded to accommodate the endoscope after the septum was repositioned con- tra-laterally. The lesions were individually managed through the enlarged ostiums while damage to the mucosa of the front sphenoidal wall was avoided. All the procedures were completed successfully without intraoperative complications, and the bony ostiums were identified easily and enlarged accu- rately. During the follow-up period of 16 weeks to 2 years, no re-atresia or restenosis was observed. The recurrence rate was 0. No postoperative complications were recorded. All the responses from the pa- tients were satisfactory. It was concluded that endoscopic sphenoidectomy assisted by trans-septal ap- proach is a feasible, safe, effective and minimally invasive approach for selected cases with unilateral or bilateral lesions in the sphenoid sinuses.

Application and Care of Two Kinds of Sphenoid Sinus Packing Materials after Pituitary Tumor Resection with the Transnasal Endoscopic Approach

Background: Neuroendoscopic transsphenoidal approach for resection of pituitary adenomas has the advantages of less damage, fewer complications, and a faster recovery than the traditional approach and has beening favored by neurosurgeons. However, there has no standard method of selecting suitable packing materials after the operation to relieve pain in patients and achieve the ideal hemostatic effect. We compared the postoperative complications and treatment effects of two different packing materials in patients with pituitary adenomas. Objective: To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using a catheter balloon and iodoform gauze for hemostasis in patients undergoing pituitary tumor resection by neuroendoscopic transsphenoidal approach. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed these data of 48 cases treated with pituitary adenoma resection by the single nasal approach from January 2018 to October 2019 in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. According to the type of sphenoid sinus packing material used, these patients were divided into balloon tamponade oppression group (24 cases) and tela iodoformum oppression group (24 cases), respectively. The balloon tamponade oppression group received catheter balloon tamponade oppression hemostasis, and the tela iodoformum oppression group underwent tela iodoformum oppression hemostasis. The outcomes and complications were compared between the two groups in which two kinds of sphenoid sinus packing materials were used for hemostasis after tumor resection by transnasal endoscopic approach. For the catheter balloon compression hemostasis method, on account of the plasticity of the balloon, the volume of water in the balloon can be adjusted according to the size of the patient’s own sphenoid cavity. The amount of bleeding and several complications in terms of discomfort during placement and removal of the packing material, rebleeding after removal of the packing, cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and electrolyte disturbance are compared between the two groups. Results: 48 patients were enrolled. The two groups’ data of patients were similar in age structure, sex ratio, tumor size at baseline and so on. No complications, such as abscess formation, were found in both groups. The success rate in the compression with catheter balloon group was 100% (24 of 24 patients);and in the iodoform gauze group 83.33% (20 of 24 patients). A catheter balloon was more successful in stopping bleeding at early stage than iodoform gauze. There were no statistically significant differences in the hospitalization stay time, operating day to discharge day and tampon indwelling time (P > 0.05). There were also no significant differences in pairwise comparison between the catheter balloon group and iodoform gauze groups in the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea or electrolyte disturbance between the two groups (P > 0.05). The incidence of headache in the catheter balloon group was statistically significantly lower than that in the iodoform gauze group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: In patients undergoing endoscopic pituitary tumor resection, compression and hemostasis by means of catheterization expansion lead to lower rates of injury and complications and have a good effect, so this method is worthy of being recommended for clinical practice.

Invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis mimicking sellar tumor: a report of 4 cases and systematic literature review

Background:Invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis is a rare but life-threatening condition usually found in immunocompromised patients.When involving cavernous sinus and surrounding structures,patients are frequently misdiagnosed with a neoplasm or sellar abscess.Timely diagnosis and intervention are crucial to patients’outcomes.The objective of this study is to review cases of invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis to describe disease manifestations,imaging features,treatment,and outcome.Case presentation:We describe four patients with invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis misdiagnosed as sellar tumors preoperatively.The mass was completely removed in three patients and partially removed in one patient microscopically.Pathological examinations confirmed Aspergillus in all cases.All four patients received anti-fungal agents postoperatively.There was no recurrence at the time of each patient’s follow-up date.One patient with complete resection was lost to follow-up while the other three patients’neurologic function improved.Additionally,we performed a systematic review regarding invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis of existing English literature.Conclusion:With regard to clinical symptoms,headache,vision impairment,and ophthalmoplegia were observed in over half of the patients in the literature.A sellar mass with bone destruction on CT and involvement of cavernous sinus is highly suggestive of invasive fungal sphenoid sinusitis.Immediate surgical removal of the lesion is recommended for invasive sphenoid sinus aspergillosis to preserve nerve function and increase the likelihood of survival.