Midfacial degloving - acess to nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses lesions

Common surgical approaches for medial maxillectomy include lateral rhinotomy and midfacial degloving. Lateral rhinotomy provides excellent surgical exposure but leaves a bulging scar on the face. Despite its own limitations, midfacial degloving has been preferred to lateral rhinotomy because it does not leave any external scar on the face1. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cosmetic results and surgical exposure access of midfacial degloving. Treatment morbidity was evaluated through: post operative hospital stay length, blood transfusion needs, complications, pre and post operative hemoglobin levels, disease recurrence, nasal packing, type of suture and antibiotics. Retrospective study was carried out with sixteen patients treated at the Hospital Geral de Fortaleza SESA/SUS from December 1999 through November 2003. Based on the results, we may conclude that midfacial degloving is effective to treat extensive nasal cavity lesions and paranasal sinuses with reduced post operative morbidity.