ENDONASAL ENDOSCOPIC SURGERY FOR RHINOGEN INTRAORBITAL ABSCESS - A REPORT OF 6 CASES

Intraorbital abscess is a serious complication of sinusitis with the d anger of permanent loss of vision and even the danger of life-threaten ing progress. The recommended surgical procedure in the literature for drainage of an intraorbital abscess is the external approach. We repo rt on successful functional endonasal endoscopic surgery in a series o f six sequential cases with intraorbital abscesses following sinusitis . The main advantages of this approach are the simultaneous treatment of causative disorders with surgery following the pathogenic route of the abscess formation and lack of trauma to further structures, The en doscope with 25- or 70-degree angled axis of vision enables the surgeo n to explore and drain the abscess cavity, which often is located behi nd the bulbus, with minimal trauma. For the trained surgeon the field of vision is favorable as compared with the external approach when the abscess is located right in the axis of vision and one has to cut thr ough healthy tissue and the intact skin, which, especially in children , can lead to long-lasting visible scars.