Cranial neuropathies in sinus disease.

To study the problem of cranial neuropathies in sinus disease the inpatient experience at the University of California, San Francisco, and San Francisco General Hospitals was reviewed. The incidence of cranial nerve involvement in acute and chronic sinus inflammations was low (8 percent and 4 percent respectively). The incidence in neoplastic disease of the sinuses was considerably higher (32 percent). Cranial neuropathies occurred in inflammatory disease more frequently when associated with mucopyocele, mucormycosis, and orbital cellulitis. In both inflammatory and neoplastic disease, when cranial nerve deficits occurred, there was a high predelication for sphenoid sinus involvement. Several instructive case histories are included. The important anatomy of the cavernous sinus region and of the orbital apex as it pertains to this problem is discussed.