The contemporary practice of functional endoscopic sinus surgery: a nationwide survey.

Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the practice of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Its introduction into clinical practice has, however, been conspicuous by an absence of good scientific evidence that it is superior to previous techniques. This postal questionnaire survey aimed to identify the diversity in the practice of FESS at a national level and, as a result, highlights areas of patient management requiring standardization. All full members of the British Association of Otolaryngologists--Head and Neck Surgeons (BAO-HNS) were contacted, 64% responded: 14% of surgeons do not always perform preoperative computerized tomography (CT) scanning; only 25% use grading systems for symptoms and/or CT assessment; a wide variety of topical agents are used both before and after operation; nearly half (47%) no longer operate principally under endoscopic vision but via TV monitors; and the majority of surgeons review patients more than 1 week after surgery with a minority advocating earlier postoperative assessment.