Surgical complications of paranasal sinus surgery. Topographical classification and therapeutic management

Surgery of the paranasal sinuses is one of the most frequently performed surgical interventions in otorhinolaryngology today. The potential for surgical complications with damage to paranasal structures in the close vicinity (orbit, endocranium, vital arteries) is still significant despite very elaborate, minimally invasive endoscopic and microscopic techniques. Reviewing the wide range of surgical complications of paranasal sinus surgery in a systematic and topographical fashion, elucidated by typical clinical case reports, we discuss the therapeutic management of such surgical sequelae. In addition, medicolegal aspects of informed patient consent as well as general recommendations to possibly avoid such complications are given.