The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether bacterial biofilms exist on the sinus mucosa surfaces of human subjects with recalcitrant chronic sinusitis. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate patients with continued symptoms of chronic sinusitis despite prior appropriate medical and surgical management. Morphologic structures that confirm the presence of bacterial biofilms were identified on the sinus mucosa of patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a known biofilm former. The presence of bacterial biofilms may explain the recalcitrant nature of some forms of chronic sinusitis.

The ability to remove a frontal sinus osteoma endoscopically can be determined preoperatively, taking into account the location and size of the lesion. There is still a role for external procedures in the surgical management of these lesions, and such procedures may be combined with endoscopic techniques for optimal results.

Analysis of high-speed digital video capture of sinonasal CBF observed under differential interference contrast microscopy is a powerful method to investigate environmental as well as host influences on mucociliary clearance within the upper airways.

No abstract