Fungus ball of the paranasal sinuses: Analysis of our serie of patients.

Objective: The fungus ball is the most frequent type of fungal rhino-sinusitis. The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical and surgical features of our patients.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 35 patients with fungus ball treated in our centre between 2006 and 2014.

Results: Mean age was 55 years old. 49% were men and 51% women. 75% involved the maxillary sinus, whereas 25% involved the sphenoid. 69% of our patients showed microcalcifications in the CT study. All the patients were surgically treated, with no cases of recurrence.

Conclusions: Clinical manifestations of fungus ball are non-specific, therefore endoscopy and image study are mandatory. The definitive diagnosis is made by histopathological study of the lesion. Endoscopic sinus surgery is the treatment of choice, with opening of the diseased sinus and complete removal of the fungus ball. The frequency of complications is very low. No oral or topical antimycotic treatments are necessary.