A Pott's puffy tumour as a late complication of a frontal sinus reconstruction: case report and literature review

Rhinology. 2009 Dec;47(4):470-5. doi: 10.4193/Rhin07.060.

Abstract

A Pott's Puffy Tumour (PPT) is a rare clinical entity, which, traditionally has been described as an acute abscess with periosteitis secondary to osteomyelitis of the external table of the frontal bone of the skull, complicating an acute frontal sinusitis. The aim of this article is to present a case of progressively evolving PPT, which emerged during the course of a common rhinitis, in a patient who, thirty years previously, had undergone a reconstruction of the frontal sinus involving osteosynthesis. The patient was treated with antibiotic therapy coupled with external access surgery using the Cairn Unterberger approach. This allowed the drainage of pus, the removal of infected osteosynthetic material and a complete debridement of osteomyelitic bone from the affected area. Frontal sinus obliteration was undertaken using methyl methacrylate, preferable in this case to hydroxyapatite, due to the direct communication with the neighbouring sinus cavities and the presence of defective bone in the superior orbit. A review of literature available on Medline up to January 2008 reveals that this is the third published case of PPT complicating a frontal reconstruction.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Abscess / etiology
  • Abscess / therapy*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Debridement
  • Disease Progression
  • Drainage / methods
  • Forehead / injuries
  • Frontal Bone / pathology
  • Frontal Sinus / diagnostic imaging
  • Frontal Sinus / surgery
  • Frontal Sinusitis / complications*
  • Frontal Sinusitis / therapy
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Methylmethacrylates / therapeutic use
  • Middle Aged
  • Osteomyelitis / complications*
  • Osteomyelitis / diagnostic imaging
  • Osteomyelitis / therapy
  • Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures
  • Plastic Surgery Procedures / adverse effects
  • Postoperative Complications / therapy*
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / complications
  • Prosthesis-Related Infections / surgery
  • Rhinitis / complications
  • Risk Factors
  • Time Factors
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Methylmethacrylates