Extent of maxillary sinus surgery and its effect on instrument access, irrigation penetration, and disease clearance

Background Middle meatal antrostomy (MMA) provides limited access to the anteromedial and inferior aspect of the maxillary sinus (MS) often resulting in residual disease and inflammatory burden. Newer extended procedures, such as mega-antrostomy (Mega-A) and extended modified mega-antrostomy (EMMA), have been developed to address this limitation. This study assesses the effect of varying extent of MS surgery on irrigation penetration and access of instrumentation. Methods The MS of 5 fresh-frozen cadavers were sequentially dissected. Irrigation was evaluated with a squeeze bottle (SB) in different head positions and using different volumes of fluid. Surgical reach and visualization were examined using common sinus instruments and different angled endoscopes. A disease simulation was also performed to check for residual debris after instrumentation and irrigations. Results Irrigation penetration improved as antrostomy size increased (p < 0.0001), with a significant difference observed between the extended procedures and MMA. The effect of the volume was significant for SB (p < 0.0001) but head positions appeared irrelevant (p = 0.613). Overall visualization improved for Mega-A and EMMA. A similar trend was seen for the reach of the instruments to all sinus wall subsites. EMMA facilitated the most removal of sinus disease in the disease simulation model when compared with both MMA and Mega-A, due to its reach of the anteroinferior aspects of the maxillary sinus. Conclusions High-volume irrigation using SB achieved good sinus penetration, irrespective of head position. Extended MS procedures appear to further increase irrigation penetration as well as surgical access.