Functional endoscopic sinus surgery, or FESS, is a procedure utilized to enlarge the sinuses, enabling nasal mucus to drain properly. This minimally-invasive surgical procedure is most frequently used to treat patients with chronic sinusitis or sinus swelling. Treatment with functional endoscopic sinus surgery can help alleviate nasal congestion, headaches, facial pain and post-nasal drip in chronic sinusitis patients. Patients should speak with a doctor regarding the potential complications from functional endoscopic sinus surgery before undergoing this type of procedure.
Vision Problems
During surgery, a patient can sustain eye damage as a complication of this procedure, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine reports. Eye damage can result in severe eye irritation or inflammation and may cause a patient's eyes to appear swollen or bruised. Additional vision complications, such as vision loss, increased eye tearing or blurred or double vision can also arise in certain patients after functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Vision complications are generally temporary and progressively subside as a patient heals from surgery.
CSF Leakage
At the top of the nasal passages there is a bone that separates the nose from the brain. If this bone is damaged during surgery, a patient can begin to leak brain fluid, called cerebral spinal fluid, or CSF, through the nasal passages, according to Dr. Ashley Sikand with the Nevada Sinus Center. Patients who experience this complication after surgery are more likely to develop a life-threatening brain infection called meningitis. Meningitis can cause severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, leading to fever, stiff neck and throbbing headache symptoms. Patients who develop any of these symptoms after FESS require emergency medical attention to ensure prompt receipt of appropriate antibiotics and treatment.
Tooth or Lip Numbness
This surgical procedure can cause sensations of numbness or discomfort along a patient's teeth or lips. These sensations can be accompanied by swelling or facial bruising in certain patients. Typically, these complications from FESS are temporary and resolve within one to two weeks following surgery.
Nasal Scar Tissue
Scar tissue can accumulate within a patient's nasal passages after FESS. Typically, nasal scar tissue is minimal and does not result in further medical complications. In certain cases, nasal scar tissue may disrupt a patient's nasal breathing or sense of smell. Such complications should be discussed with a physician.
Infection or Bleeding
Infection or bleeding complications can occur after any type of surgical procedure, including FESS. Patients who develop infection symptoms, such as fever, chills, weakness, upset stomach or cough, should consult a doctor as soon as possible. Bleeding complications are typically detected and resolved during FESS. Severe or persistent nasal bleeding, though rare, requires immediate medical attention.
