Surgical Treatment of Chronic Sinusitis with Olfactory Disturbance

Abstract

The improvement of the sense of smell in patients with chronic sinusitis and olfactory disturbance was assessed pre- and postoperatively by T & T olfactometry and the intravenous Alinamin® test.
Overall percentage of improvement was 62.3%. Patients who did not respond to the Alinamin® test preoperatively did not recover the sense of smell after surgery. The percentage of improvement was higher in patients with initial operation than in those needing reoperation. The percentage of improvement was lower in those with recurrent polyps and/or purulent rhinorrhea after surgery. Surgery of the middle turbinate resulted in the highest percentage of improvement. There was no correlation between the degree of opacification of the ethmoid sinus seen on X-ray films and the degree of improvement.
It was concluded that special care is necessary in the treatment of patients needing reoperation. Furthermore, trimming of the middle turbinate, if pathological change is present, can improve the sense of smell if olfactory disturbance is caused by chronic sinusitis.