Objective: The long-term clinical and radiological outcomes of patients surgically treated for frontal sinus fracture were assessed.
Methods: A retrospective, single-centre analysis was conducted of patients treated for frontal sinus fracture in a tertiary trauma centre between 2000 and 2017. Patients who underwent surgical repair for frontal sinus fracture followed by clinical and radiographical evaluation for at least six months were included.
Results: Of 338 patients admitted with frontal sinus fracture, 77 were treated surgically. Thirty patients met the inclusion criteria for long-term follow-up. The average follow-up duration was 37 months (range, 6-132 months). Reconstruction, obliteration and cranialisation of the frontal sinus fracture were performed in 14, 9 and 7 patients, respectively. Two patients with a reconstructed frontal sinus and one with an obliterated frontal sinus developed mucoceles. One patient developed forehead disfigurement following obliteration.
Conclusion: Long-term complications of frontal sinus repair using the chosen repair techniques are rare, but patients need to be made aware of these potential complications.
Keywords: Abscess; Fracture Fixation; Frontal Sinus; Mucocele; Skull Fractures.