Chronic sphenoid sinusitis with bone destruction – surgical treatment of five patients

Abstract

Chronic sinusitis of the sphenoid sinus is a disease that can cause a number of complications, mainly intracranial and ophthalmic ones. The proximity of critical anatomical structures such as the internal carotid artery, cranial nerves, cavernous sinus, dura mater and cerebral lobes puts any or all of these at risk and challenge due to the disease process itself and in surgical management as well. Infiltration of bone structures or its damage in the mechanism of compression is recorded in cases of fungal rhinosinusitis (FRS), Wegener's granulomatosis or actinitis with manifestation in the area of the sinuses. The authors present five patients with chronic sinusitis with bone destruction of the sphenoid sinus. Suspicion of fungal etiology in all cases was based on computed tomography (CT) images. The authors pay particular attention to the role of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in chronic sinusitis with bone destruction, especially of a fungal etiology.