History of nasal and sinus surgery

Sinus surgery probably originates from the time of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Instruments were used to remove the brain through the nose as a part of the mummification process. The history of nasal surgery dates back to the mists of time. In the so-called "Edwin Smith ancient Egypt papyrus", purchased by the American antiquarian Edwin Smith (1822-1906) in Luxor in 1862, there are descriptions of the diagnosis and treatment of nasal deformities dating back to about 3,000 years ago. The interest in the pathology of the maxillary sinus started to rise in the 17th century. Caldwell (1893), Scanes Spicer (1894) and later Luc in 1897 closed the canine fossa incision after an intranasal antrostomy and the removal of the infected mucosa. After the introduction of endoscopy at the beginning of this century, endonasal surgery has been developed in the last decades into one of the important surgical procedures for maxillary sinus infections today.