[Balloon catheter dilatation for frontal sinus ostium stenosis: surgical technique and preliminary report].

Abstract To report early clinical experience with balloon dilation of the frontal recess ("Balloon Sinuplasty"), to describe surgical technique, to assess its feasibility and effectiveness. This prospective, multiinstitutional case series describes all patients who underwent balloon sinuplasty for frontal sinus ostium stenosis from May 2011 to December 2011. Eight adult patients underwent a total of 11 frontal balloon sinuplasty in the clinical setting. The mean age was 46 +/- 12. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia. No complications occurred. Six of the eight patients were deemed cured with a follow-up range of 1-7 months. For 2 patients the procedure was unsuccessful. Balloon dilatation of the frontal recess is a safe and feasible technique with a comparable efficacy to conventional surgical treatment modalities. There is a need for randomised controlled trials and cost-effectiveness studies.