Lateral rhinotomy. Indications, technique, and review of 226 patients.

Lateral rhinotomy provides excellent exposure of the interior of the nose, the paranasal sinuses, and the nasopharynx with minimal postoperative deformity. A review of 226 lateral rhinotomies performed at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, from 1970 through 1979, was made to determine the versatility of this incision and some of its limitations and risks. The suitability of this technique to approach the wide variety of pathologic conditions that occur in the midfacial structures was reaffirmed.