Pott's puffy tumor in pediatric Patients: Our surgical experience

Abstract

Background

Pott's puffy tumor (PPT) is a rare complication of frontal sinusitis defined as subperiosteal abscess of the anterior table of the frontal sinus with associated osteomyelitis. Its complications can be harmful to the patient, therefore immediate treatment is necessary. Surgical drainage and systemic antibiotics are considered as integral parts of the overall treatment. However, surgical approaches can differ between different centers and surgeons.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated the electronic records of 13 pediatric patients with PPT between 2018 and 2023.Clinical, laboratory radiology, and demographic findings were evaluated as well as surgical and post op data.

Results

Thirteen patients were included in the study (M/F: 7/6), the median age was 11.3 (6–15) years old. eight (61.5 %) patients had an intracranial complication. All patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics. One patient was treated conservatively and the other 12 were operated on. In the first operation 3/12 (25 %) underwent only frontal sinus trephination, 5/12 (41.66 %) underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and 4/12 (33.33 %) underwent combined endoscopic and trephination surgery. Repeated surgery was needed for 5 patients, four of them underwent only endoscopic drainage and one underwent combined endoscopic and trephination surgery. The media hospitalization time (days) after the 1st surgical intervention was 8.3 for the combined approach, 9.6 for the external approach and 14.75 for the endoscopic approach. All patients recovered uneventfully.

Conclusions

Herein, we report our surgical experience in pediatric patients with PPT treated in a tertiary hospital. Ideally, PPT should be managed with a combination of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and surgical intervention.

Traditionally, open approaches served as the primary surgical route to access frontal sinus in PPT patients. However, the emergence of endoscopes instrumentation has supplemented these approaches in dealing with PPT. Our database reveals that open approach still has an important role in PPT treatment as patients who underwent only endoscopic drainage faced a higher risk of inadequate improvement and necessitating reintervention.