Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical features, treatment and curative effect of different subtypes of fungal ball maxillary sinusitis (FBMS).Methods The symptoms, signs, imaging characteristics, treatment methods and postoperative follow-up outcomes of 49 FBMS patients admitted to our department from Jan 2019 to June 2020 were analyzed retrospectively, and their clinical features and treatment characteristics were summarized and analyzed.Results All the 49 patients were definitely diagnosed as FBMS. According to the clinical features, they were divided into 4 different clinical types. The first type was simple FBMS (n=21). The main clinical symptoms of this type were headache, pus stuff, bloody nasal discharge and nasal obstruction on the affected side. Maxillary antrostomy was performed with appropriate enlargement of sinus orifice intraoperatively and postoperative nasal irrigation. The second was asymptomatic FBMS (n=15). No clinical symptoms were presented but with imaging characteristics of FBMS unintentionally revealed in physical examination or other disease examination. For this type, maxillary antrostomy with appropriate enlargement of sinus orifice was performed. The third type was FBMS with nasal polyps (n=8), and the major clinical symptoms were nasal obstruction, pus stuff, headache on the affected side and dizziness. Surgery was performed to resect the nasal polyps, open the maxillary sinus and expand the sinus orifice appropriately with postoperative management of chronic rhinosinusitis. The last one was FBMS with allergic rhinitis (n=5), the main symptoms included bloody nasal discharge on the affected side based on the symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Intraoperatively, the mucosa of the maxillary sinus cavity was revealed to be edematous and polypoid. Maxillary antrostomy with appropriate enlargement of sinus orifice was performed, and combined with improved prelacrimal recess approach in cases with lesion located in anterior, infero-medial part or bottom of maxillary sinus.Conclusions Classification according to clinical characteristics of FBMS is conducive to accurate treatment. Different surgical approaches under nasal endoscope can reduce postoperative recurrence and improve prognosis.