Endoscopic Management of Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea

Heo, Sung Jae; Kim, Jung Soo

Review

Journal of Rhinology 2014;21(1):15-21.
Published online May 31, 2014.

Endoscopic Management of Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea. sookim@knu.ac.kr

뇌척수액 비루의 내시경적 치료

허성재, 김정수

경북대학교 의학전문대학원 이비인후과학교실

Abstract

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea has become a relatively common disease due to increasingincidents oftraffic accidents and endoscopic sinus surgeries, including skull base surgery. Improvements in surgical skills and endoscopicequipment have contributed to broadening the indicationsforendoscopic management ofCSF rhinorrhea. Precise identification of the etiology and leakage site is important for the treatment of CSF rhinorrhea. A variety of sealing techniques, such as overlay, underlay, and bath-plug, showed similar surgical outcomes. In addition, the type of graft material did not make a difference inthe surgical results. Therefore, thechoice of technique and graft material depends on the judgment of the surgeon. Endoscopic management of CSF rhinorrhea demonstrated anexcellent success rate and low morbidity. There were only few complications duringendoscopic management of CSF rhinorrhea and these were not serious. In conclusion, endoscopic management is effective for CSF rhinorrhea and should be initially considered for the treatment of CSF leakage.

Key Words: Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak;Endoscopes;Skull Base Surgery