Abstract
We classified patients with paranasal sinus disease into 3 categories, those with or without a history of previous Caldwell-Luc procedure according to clinical diagnosis. Class A: postoperative maxillary cysts in 22 patients. Class B: paranasal sinusitis in 21 patients who had undergone Caldwell-Luc surgery. Class C: paranasal sinusitis in 62 patients who had not undergone paranasal sinus surgery.
This study evaluated the ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid sinuses in these 3 classes of patients on coronal CT scan. High density areas in the ethmoid sinuses were observed in 25.0% of class A, 80.0% of class B, and 82.1% of class C; in the frontal sinuses in 19.0% of class A, 73.7% of class B, and 73.3% of class C; in the sphenoid sinuses in 18.2% of class A, 57.1% of class B, and 51.6% of class C. As a result, the prevalence of high density areas in the ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid sinuses in patients (class A) with postoperative maxillary cysts was significantly lower than those in patients (classes B and C) with paranasal sinusitis. The authors speculated that postoperative maxillary cysts arise in cases that had few or lightly inflammatory changes of the ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid sinuses.
