Analysis of Choanal Polyps

Abstract

Choanal polyps (CPs) are unilateral benign masses usually originating from paranasal sinuses. Maxillary, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses are involved in order of decreasing frequency. In this study, the medical records of patients operated on with a clinical diagnosis of CP between 1998 and 2011 were reviewed. A total of 98 patients with a mean age 24.3 years were analyzed. Histopathologic diagnoses were CP in 94 patients and inverted papilloma in 4 patients. The sites of origin were maxillary sinus in 89 patients (90.8%), sphenoid sinus in 6 patients (6.1%), bulla ethmoidalis, inferior concha, and uncinate process in 1 patient each (1.0%). The most common symptoms were nasal obstruction (98.0%) and postnasal drip (30.6%). The surgical approaches were endoscopic sinus surgery in 63 patients (62.4%) unilaterally and in 12 patients (11.9%) bilaterally and unilateral endoscopic sinus surgery with mini Caldwell in 26 patients (25.7%). All 3 recurrences were in pediatric patients, and the recurrence rates among pediatric patients and overall were 7.7% and 3.1%, respectively. Endoscopic sinus surgery is an effective surgical procedure for treatment of CP; however, addition of a mini-Caldwell approach is safe for antrochoanal polyp resection if the endonasal technique fails. Histopathologic examination is mandatory because inverted papillomas may present as CPs.