Intra-operative bleeding diminishes visualisation during functional endoscopic sinus surgery and can cause unfavourable outcomes. Dexmedetomidine is a potent alpha-2 agonist, with sympatholytic effects. This systematic review aimed to assess whether dexmedetomidine decreases intra-operative bleeding and improves operative field quality.

All randomised, controlled trials that assessed the ability of dexmedetomidine to provide good operative fields for functional endoscopic sinus surgery were identified from Medline and Embase. The outcomes of interest were: operative field quality, intra-operative bleeding, operative time and adverse events.

Five studies (254 patients) met the inclusion criteria. When compared to saline, dexmedetomidine improved the quality of the operative field. The operative time was similar between groups. When compared to other drugs, dexmedetomidine was as effective as esmolol and remifentanil. There were no adverse incidents.

Dexmedetomidine is beneficial in providing good visibility during functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Controlled hypotensive anaesthesia with this medicine decreases intra-operative bleeding and enhances surgical field quality.

To analyse the radiological features of the bony nasolacrimal duct before and after functional endoscopic sinus surgery, and document the incidence of surgically induced dehiscence.

A retrospective case series analysis was conducted of 63 consecutive patients who underwent uncinectomy as a part of 118 functional endoscopic sinus surgical procedures. All patients underwent pre- and post-operative computed tomography scans. Axial computed tomography images at the level of maxillary sinus were evaluated for the presence of bony nasolacrimal duct dehiscence, osteitis and completeness of uncinectomy.

The rate of nasolacrimal duct dehiscence prior to surgery was 6.8 per cent (8 out of 118 cases). Nasolacrimal duct dehiscence as a consequence of surgery was observed in 3.3 per cent of cases (4 out of 118), with a further 4.2 per cent (5 out of 118) showing post-operative reactive bony change of the nasolacrimal duct in the absence of dehiscence.

The incidence of nasolacrimal duct injury observed was much lower than that previously reported in the literature.

Sinonasal malignancies are rare tumours, which can be resected using an open or endoscopic approach. The current study evaluated the outcome of both approaches.

A total of 160 patients with malignant nasal tumours were evaluated in an academic tertiary care hospital. The patients were allocated to ‘open’ or ‘endoscopic’ surgery groups, based on the surgical approach employed. The following data were evaluated and compared: patient and tumour characteristics; oncological treatments; and oncological outcomes, including complications, surgical margin, recurrence, overall survival and disease-free survival.

The maxillary sinus was the most common tumour location and squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathology-based diagnosis. Younger patients had lower grades of tumour. Higher survival rates were significantly related to lower tumour stages in both surgery groups. There were no differences between the two relatively similar groups in terms of surgical margin, the need for adjunctive therapy, and recurrence and survival rates. In addition, multivariate logistical regression analysis indicated no correlations between the type of surgical approach employed and the rates of recurrence and complications.

Endoscopic surgery for sinonasal malignancies is comparable to the conventional open approach in carefully selected patients.