Comparison of radical (nasalisation) and functional ethmoidectomy in patients with severe sinonasal polyposis. A retrospective study.

Objective: To compare the 5-year outcomes of two endoscopic surgical approaches for diffuse and severe nasal polyposis.

Study Design: A natural experimental situation gave us the opportunity to compare the results 5 years after radical ethmoidectomy (nasalisation) (n= 39), and functional ethmoidectomy (n= 37). The two surgical procedures were performed by two different surgeons on 76 consecutive patients.

Comparison of functional results after ethmoidectomy and nasalization for diffuse and severe nasal polyposis.

Taking advantage of a natural experimental situation, we compared, retrospectively, functional results after nasalization and ethmoidectomy for diffuse nasal polyposis. Nasalization was a radical ethmoidectomy systematically removing all the bony lamellae and mucosa within the labyrinth, with large antrostomy, sphenoidotomy, frontotomy, and middle turbinectomy (Surgeon 1, 39 consecutive patients operated on between March and September 1991). Ethmoidectomy was a less systematic procedure, that was adapted to the extent of the pathology (Surgeon 2, 37 consecutive patients, operated on between October 1991 and November 1994).