Introduction: Inverted papillomas are benign sinonasal lesions that arise primarily from the lateral nasal wall which are characterized by their tendency to recur and propensity to be associated with malignancy. The aim of this work is to analyze our experience in the treatment of these lesions, especially through the endoscopic approach.
Material and method: We present 61 cases of sinonasal inverted papillomas that were treated at our hospital since 1983. The patients were studied by age, gender, site of presentation of the tumor, symptoms, radiologic studies, surgical treatment and evolution. The mean follow-up was 51 months (range 6-228 months).
Results: Thirty eight of the patients (62%) were males and 23 females (38%). The average age was 58 years (range 22-80). The most common symptom was unilateral nasal obstruction in 91% of the cases, followed by rhinorrhea in 46%. The most frequent location was the ethmoid region in 51% of cases, followed by the maxillary sinus in 28% and the lateral nasal wall in 21% of the cases. 78% of cases had associated sinusitis and the 43% polyposis. Tumours were classified with the Krouse staging system as follows: 35% stage I, 37% stage II, 18% stage III and 8% stage IV. 37% of the patients had bony erosion in the CT scan. Six of the 42 patients treated by endoscopic procedures presented recurrence (14%), compared with 6 of the 9 patients (67%) who were treated by open approaches. The average time to the recurrence was 41 months. 17% of the patients had malignant inverted papillomas, nine of them diagnosed from the beginning as malignant neoplasies and one which became malignant during follow up.
Discussion and conclusions: The endoscopic approach is the method of choice for the treatment of the majority of inverted papillomas. The close follow up of the patient for a large period of time is necessary for the early detection of recurrence and to allow for surgical salvage.