Minimally invasive sinus surgery: the rationale and the technique.

A rationale and technique for minimally invasive sinus surgery are presented. The rationale is based upon a long-standing functional theory of the pathogenesis of sinusitis that implicates the mucus membrane lined transition spaces between the sinus ostia and the nasal cavity rather than the ostia themselves. The details of the surgical technique, which precludes enlarging the maxillary sinus ostium, are presented. The author's experience in more than 300 consecutive surgical cases is given.