The middle turbinate window approach in endoscopic sinus surgery

Abstract

Despite the surgeon's desire to preserve the middle turbinate during endoscopic sinus surgery, partial resections of the turbinate may still be necessary. The key to partial resections is to resect enough to improve the view and to prevent scarring over the cavity without affecting olfaction. Another key is to preserve the stabilizing attachments of the turbinate to prevent it from lateralizing over the cavity. This article describes and illustrates a partial resection technique used on more than 300 turbinates. This technique allows the turbinate to retain its function and preserve it as a useful landmark for future surgery.