Functional endoscopic sinus surgery: an overview.

"Functional endoscopic sinus surgery" is a minimally invasive technique for treating chronic and acute sinusitis. It is based on the concept that most diseases of the paranasal sinuses are due to obstruction of the anterior ethmoid cells in the region of the middle meatus. With use of surgical treatment of the ethmoid sinus and endoscopic instrumentation, chronic and acute sinus disease can be managed; associated morbidity is minimal. Thus, the need for radical resection of the ethmoid sinus and the Caldwell-Luc operation has decreased. Herein the origins and anatomic basis of endoscopic sinus surgery are described, and some current applications in the management of diseases of the paranasal sinuses are reviewed.