Is routine histopathological examination of FESS material useful?

Analysis of the clinical value of histopathological examination of material collected during functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Retrospective analysis of collected data of patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery over a 7-year period. Data were collected from a pathology database of the Sint Lucas Andreas Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. All material collected from 1,944 functional endoscopic sinus surgery cases in 1,695 patients (some patients underwent revision surgery) operated between 2000 and 2007 was examined histologically. Patients with a histological outcome different from chronic inflammation or polyposis nasi, were checked on indication of surgery, type of surgery and preoperative clinical suspicion for (pre)malignancy. The impact of the histological diagnosis on the clinical course was evaluated. Thirty-seven unusual diagnoses were reported: 18 cases of inverted papilloma, one squamous cell carcinoma, two malignant lymphomas, one leiomyosarcoma, eight squamous cell papillomas, one Churg Strauss syndrome, one Schneiderian papilloma, two cases of Wegener’s granulomatosis and three cases of sarcoidosis. All other specimens were identified as chronic inflammation and/or nasal polyposis. Only two clinically significant, unexpected diagnoses, both inverted papilloma, have resulted from the histological investigation. We conclude that the close correlation between histopathology outcome and examination on clinical grounds or gross inspection indicates that routine histopathological examination of functional endoscopic sinus surgery material has little clinical value and it is questionable if this should be performed. In patients in whom there is a high degree of suspicion for (pre)malignancy, histopathological examination of functional endoscopic sinsus surgery material remains indicated.