Medical management in functional endoscopic sinus surgery failures.

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery has a high rate of success, ranging from 75 to 95% improvement in symptoms for patients who have medically refractory chronic rhinosinusitis. However, symptom improvement does not necessarily correlate with disease resolution, and even asymptomatic patients may require long-term medical management and endoscopic surveillance if late recurrence is to be avoided. The 5 to 25% percent of patients who continue to have symptoms create a challenge for the rhinologist. Correct diagnosis is the hallmark of successful treatment of this recidivistic population, carried out through history, nasal endoscopy, and radiologic (computed tomography) studies. Particularly in patients with a primary complaint of headache or facial pain, the initial preoperative diagnosis should also be revisited, particularly before further surgical intervention is considered. Once a proper diagnosis is made, management is multifaceted, including topical and systemic medications, and mechanical improvements in the sinus drainage pathways, either through treatments in the office or revision surgery. Therefore, we strongly recommend that chronic rhinosinusitis be viewed as a medical disease in which surgery plays a therapeutic role. Frequently, persistent inflammation slowly settles down over time with appropriate medical management.