Use of triamcinolone-soaked absorbable gelatin foam (gelfoam) as a treatment for recurrent sinonasal polyposis after FESS in poor candidates for revision surgery

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps recurs frequently after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), with resultant poor quality of life with persistence of nasal obstruction, sinus aches, and discharge as well anosmia and dysgysia; revision FESS is usually the treatment of choice referred to relief patients’ suffering, yet it is not always the case, patients preference as well as fitness for general hypotensive anesthesia, patients age, cardiopulmonary status, and concurrent bronchial asthma might render unfit for an elective procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of triamcinolone-soaked absorbable gelatin foam (gelfoam) as a treatment for recurrent sinonasal polyposis after FESS in poor candidates for revision surgery. Results Thirty patients suffering from recurrent sinonasal polyposis after single or multiple FESS procedures were selected; all patients were subjected to intranasal application of gelfoam soaked with triamcinolone as a conservative medical office procedure using triamcinolone-soaked absorbable gelatin foam (gelfoam) weekly for a period of 8 weeks followed by intranasal steroid nasal spray for maintenance and as anti-recurrence measure. Patients were followed up for 4 months post-intervention; Meltzer Clinical Scoring System was used to analyze the patients’ pre- and post-intervention via office endoscopy (0° 4-mm Hopkins endoscope). All patients tolerated the procedure well. The study group showed no statistical significance pre-intervention which comprised 17 (56.7%) patients with grade 4 sinonasal polyposis extent and 13 (43.3%) patients with grade 3 sinonasal polyposis extent (P=0.795), denoting no difference between patients pending treatment option. Post-treatment, both groups showed a significant reduction in the extent of polyposis (P<0.001) where post-treatment showed 21 (70%) patients with grades 0 no polyps and 9 (30%) patients with grade 1 sinonasal polyposis extent. Conclusion Triamcinolone-soaked gelfoam packing is an effective and safe method for managing recurrent sinonasal polyposis after FESS. Intervention contributed to a successful result, decreased the need for surgery in poor candidates for hypotensive anesthesia, and could be used as a sole treatment of recurrent sinonasal polypsis in elderly patients whose general condition could not tolerate invasive procedures.

Dynamic thiol/disulphide balance in patients undergoing hypotensive anesthesia in elective septoplasties

Objective: We aimed to investigate the effects of hypotensive anesthesia on oxidative stress with serum thiol/disulfide balance in patients undergoing elective septoplasty procedures under general anesthesia. Methods: Seventy-two patients between the ages of 18-60, with a physical condition I –II, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, were included in this prospective observational study. Septoplasty was chosen for standard surgical stress. According to the maintenance of anesthesia, patients were divided into the groups as Hypotensive Anesthesia (n = 40) and Normotensive Anesthesia (n = 32). Serum thiol/disulfide levels were measured by the method developed by Erel & Neşelioğlu. Results: The native thiol and total thiol values of both groups measured at the 60th minute intraoperatively were significantly lower than the preoperative values (both p < 0.01). Intraoperatively, at the 60th minute, there was no significant difference in terms of post-native thiol and post-total thiol levels between hypotensive and normotensive anesthesia groups (p = 0.68, and p = 0.81, respectively). Age > 40 years and female gender were found to have a significant effect on dynamic oxidative stress (p = 0.002, and p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: This pilot study has found that hypotensive anesthesia had no adverse effect on dynamic thiol/disulfide balance in elective surgeries.