ABSTRACT
There are several options. Ethmoidectomy performed with the endoscope is probably the most acceptable nowadays, although practitioners skilled in performing intranasal ethmoidectomy under direct vision may prefer this technique (see conventional operations for disease of the frontal and ethmoid sinuses, and functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), Chapter 37). External ethmoidectomy retains a place in the treatment of recurrent polyp disease, but only among those surgeons who are not conversant with endoscopic sinus techniques. Even complete eradication of the ethmoid air cells may fail to lead to re-development of polyps, presumably arising from small remnants of mucosa which rapidly re-expand and form new polyps.
