Postoperative mucoceles of the maxillary sinus.

Apparently, the incidence of postoperative maxillary sinus mucoceles is greater in Japan than in the Western world. Between 1967 and 1976 at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, 132 patients had the diagnosis of mucoceles of the maxillary sinus. Of these patients, 131 (99%) had histories of previous maxillary sinus surgery. A number of etiologic mechanisms are probably involved in producing these mucoceles.