History and current status of nasal endoscopic surgery

  Modern nasal endoscopic surgery originated in Europe, with the publication of the first monograph in the field of nasal endoscopic surgery, “Nasal Endoscopy”, by Austrian Professor Messerklinger in 1975, after which the door to nasal endoscopic surgery was opened. 1972 Draf was the first to perform nasal endoscopic surgery; in 1977 Wigand introduced the posterior to anterior opening of the sinuses; in 1985 and In 1985 and 1986, Stammberger and Kennedy proposed and refined the concept of functional endoscopic sinus surgery and emphasized the pathological anatomical significance of the sinus-sinus-orifice nasal tract complex, laying the theoretical foundation of functional endoscopic sinus surgery.  After the introduction of nasal endoscopy into China in the mid to late 1980s and its use in sinus surgery by Prof. Xu Geng of Zhongshan Medical Center in Guangzhou and Prof. Han Deming of Tongren Hospital in Beijing in the early 1990s, the decade of rapid development and maturation of nasal endoscopic surgery in China from the mid 1990s to 2004 began, and the traditional sinus surgery was revolutionized. It has been commented that “just as the use of microscope revolutionized ear surgery in the 1950s, endoscopic sinus surgery has pushed sinus surgery to a brand new stage”.  The concept of nasal endoscopic surgery in the treatment of chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps has fundamentally changed compared with traditional sinus surgery, and its connotation includes removing the lesions, improving and reconstructing the ventilation and drainage channels of the nasal cavity and sinuses and preserving the basic structures of the nasal cavity and sinuses as much as possible under the direct observation of the nasal endoscope, so as to achieve the purpose of clinical cure, instead of the traditional radical treatment concept of complete removal of the mucous membrane, and indeed, clinically, it has achieved The results are indeed clinically incomparable to those of traditional surgery.  In addition to the development of nasal cavity and sinus surgery, due to the progress of related anatomy and imaging, nasal endoscopic surgical techniques have been extended in the field of application, and nowadays, they have been maturely applied in nasal-eye related surgery and skull base related surgery such as nasal endoscopic lacrimal sac nasal stoma for dacryocystitis, orbital decompression, optic nerve decompression, in addition to cerebrospinal fluid leak repair, due to accurate observation, less damage, avoidance of craniotomy, simplification of surgical path and operation. It has become the main treatment for cerebrospinal fluid nasal leaks because of accurate observation, minimal injury, avoidance of craniotomy, and simplification of surgical pathways and operations.  In pterygoid saddle tumor surgery, such as pituitary tumor surgery, access to the pterygoid saddle through the nasal endoscope from the pterygoid sinus is not only quick, but also greatly reduces the operating time and side injuries.