Objectives Tumors involving the anterior portion of the maxillary sinus remain technically challenging to access via an endoscopic approach. The modified endoscopic Denker's (MED) procedure was recently introduced to address such lesions. We present a multicenter series of 58 patients with tumors involving the anterior maxillary sinus successfully resected using a MED procedure and present the clinical outcomes and complications. Methods A multi-institution retrospective chart review was performed on patients who underwent the MED approach for the management of tumors involving the anterior maxillary sinus from 2009 to 2020. Demographic data, pathology, surgical outcomes, and complications were reviewed. Results Fifty-eight patients were identified, including 34 (58.6%) male and 24 (41.4%) female patients. The most common pathologies included: inverted papilloma (n = 27; 46.6%), adenoid cystic carcinoma (n = 9; 15.5%), and squamous cell carcinoma (n = 8; 13.8%). Thirty-eight patients (65.5%) underwent MED alone, while 20 (34.5%) had combined expanded endonasal approaches for lesions extending beyond the maxillary sinus. All maxillary sinus lesions were successfully accessed with the MED procedure without the need for an additional approach. After a mean follow-up of 30 months (range, 1–127), 8 of 58 (13.8%) patients developed complications related to the MED, including epiphora requiring an additional procedure (n = 4; 6.9%), prolonged facial/palatal numbness (n = 3; 5.2%), severe epistaxis (n = 1; 1.7%), and vestibular stenosis (n = 1; 1.7%), the latter of which occurred following postoperative radiation. Conclusion The MED procedure is a safe and highly effective approach for benign and malignant tumors involving the anterior maxillary sinus. However, patients should be counseled preoperatively on potential complications including the risk of facial numbness and epiphora.

Background Currently, no consensus exists on the appropriate control specimen site to utilize in studies evaluating for biomarkers in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Studies thus far have utilized tissue from various anatomic sites despite regional heterogeneity. Objective We set out to quantify the differences in biomarker levels present in inferior turbinate versus sphenoid sinus mucosa in paired healthy control patients. We hypothesize that statistically significant differences in cytokine/chemokine expression exist between these two distinct sites. Methods A 38-plex commercially available cytokine/chemokine Luminex Assay was performed on 54 specimens encompassing paired inferior turbinate and sphenoid sinus mucosa samples from 27 patients undergoing endoscopic anterior skull base surgery. Patients with a history of CRS were excluded. Paired sample t-tests and Fisher’s exact tests were performed. Results Twenty-seven patients were included in the study, including 10 male and 17 female patients with an average age of 48 years. The following 8 biomarkers had statistically significant concentration differences between inferior turbinate mucosa and sphenoid mucosa sites: Flt-3L, Fractalkine, IL-12p40, IL-1Ra, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1β, and VEGF, with all P-values <0.01. Conclusion No consensus exists regarding the optimal choice of control specimen for CRS research. We present statistically significant quantitative differences in biomarker levels between paired inferior turbinate and sphenoid mucosa samples. This confirms the presence of heterogeneity between different subsites of sinonasal mucosa and highlights the need for standardization in future CRS research.

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