The Role of Balloon Sinuplasty in the Treatment of Vacuum Rhinogenic Headache

In this study we tried to demonstrate how balloon sinuplasty could be an option in the treatment of the Rhinogenic Headache due to a probably disventilation of frontal sinus recess. 107 patients were included in the study with diagnosis of Rhinogenic Headache. The surgical group underwent bilateral balloon sinuplasty of the frontal sinus. The medical group underwent pharmacological treatment. Headaches characteristics were evaluated by a clinical personal diary. The severity was recorded by Visual Analog Scale 4 and 8 months after treatment. 98 out of 107 patients completed the protocol. In surgical group and in medical one the mean headache score improved at four and eight months follow up. The headache frequency attacks per month decrease from a preoperative frequency of 18 (+/- 4 SD) in surgical group and 17 (+/- 3 SD) in medical group to 3 (+/- 1 SD) and 6 (+/- 3 SD) respectively at 4 months control but increased slightly to 5 (+/- 2 SD) and 12 (+/- 4 SD) after 8 months. We concluded that the balloon sinuplasty should be considered as an effective alternative option after an accurate selection of surgical candidates. However, it is important a 6-8 month follow-up to evaluate the efficacy and stability of the treatment used.