Neuro-ophthalmic complications of functional endoscopic sinus surgery among chronic sinusitis patients

Objective: To determine the frequency of neuro-ophthalmic complications during functional endoscopic sinus surgery in chronic sinusitis patients. Methodology: This descriptive case series was conducted at ENT department of Qazi Hussain Ahmed Medical Complex, Nowshera, from February to August 2019. WHO calculator was utilized for the sample size calculation, thus 171 patients with chronic sinusitis were selected using consecutive sampling. Ethical approval was taken from ethical committee and consent forms were taken from all participating patients. Detailed clinical evaluation and endoscopic Rhinoscopy and CT scan were performed by ENT consultant to evaluate the status of sinuses. Results: Sixty two percent patients were male and 38% patients were female. In this study, 36% patients were in age range of 20-30 years, 30% patients were in age range 31-40 years, 23% patients were in age range 41-50 years and 11% patients were in age range 51-60 years. Mean age was 32±1.26 years. Neuro ophthalmic complications seen were visual loss due to damage to optic nerve in 1% while 0.5% patients had ophthalmoplegia due to oculomotor nerve damage. Conclusion: Neuro-ophthalmic complications during functional endoscopic sinus surgery in our study were rare. However, some of these lead to permanent disabilities.