Experience with endonasal endoscopic surgery of inverted papilloma of the nose and paranasal sinuses

BACKGROUND: The inverted papilloma of the nasal cavity and the paranasal sinuses is a benign but locally aggressive neoplasm with a high recurrence rate and an unknown risk of malign transformation. This unsteadiness of biological behaviour requires a permanent control of the outcome of the available surgical treatments to ensure the utmost reliability for the patients. METHODS: In our investigation we analysed the surgical results in 54 patients with inverted papilloma of the last 30 years with an average followup of 55 months. 25 of them were endoscopically treated. The other group of 29 patients was treated by traditional surgical techniques using an extra-nasal approach. RESULTS: Using the endonasal-endoscopic technique we observed a recurrence rate of 48% whereas the other group treated by an extra-nasal approach reached a recurrence rate of only 24% and did not show any multiple recurrences. A malign transformation was found in two patients (< 5%) within the first 8 months after the first resection. CONCLUSION: In consequence patients with inverted papilloma have to be informed of the different surgical techniques and their recurrence rates. Especially an endonasal-endoscopic treatment of the maxillary sinus has to be carefully considered.