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Nasal polyps in the olfactory cleft

Objectives: Nasal polyps frequently arise from the middle meatus in patients with nasal polyposis, but caution is required when polyps are seen protruding from the olfactory cleft. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a method to achieve effective and safe access to the olfactory cleft, and to determine the actual incidence of polyps arising from the olfactory cleft in patients with nasal polyposis. Patients: Eighty‐four patients with bilateral or unilateral nasal polyps (n = 143) ranging in age from 16 to 72 years underwent endoscopic sinus surgery in the period from January 1994 to December 1996. Methods: To observe and gain access to the olfactory cleft, septoplasty combined with endoscopic sinus surgery was needed in patients with nasal polyposis. Results: The endoscopy during the combined septoplasty and endoscopic sinus surgery revealed that 36.4% (n = 52) of bilateral or unilateral nasal polyps (n = 143) arose from the olfactory cleft. Of 52 polyps of olfactory cleft origin, 45 (86.5%) arose from the superior turbinate and/or superior meatus, 32 (67.3%) from the medial side of the middle turbinate, 24 (46.2%) from the anterior face of the sphenoid sinus, and 17 (32.7%) from the mucosa of the nasal septum. Conclusions: These findings suggest that for surgeries of nasal polyposis an approach to the olfactory cleft as well as to the middle meatus is required.