Vol.96 No.12 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 96 No.12 December 2003
Orbital Cellulitis Arising from Acute Frontal
Sinusitis via Maxillary and Ethmoidal Sinusitis
due to Odontogenic Infection
Mami Yamamoto and Keiko Nishioka
(Takinomiya General Hospital)
We report a case of a 55-year-old male who presented with orbital cellulitis as a complication of acute frontal sinusitis due to odontogenic infection. Computed Tomographic scans revealed orbital cellulitis in addition to unilateral opacification of all maxillary and frontal sinuses and only the frontal part of the ethmoid sinus. Surgical approach was required to treat the sinusitis and associated orbital cellulites, and bone destruction was found between the frontal sinus and the upper orbital wall. Cultures detected Streptococcus constellatus from all sites.
Odontogenic infections may spread to the orbit through several routes. In this case, the acute frontal sinusitis most likely occurred after disease of the ostiomeatal complex. The infection spread to the orbit through the ruptured hole between frontal sinus and the upper wall of the orbit. Treatment consisted of drainage and antibiotic medication as well as treatment of the causal dental infection.
Key words : orbital cellulitis, frontal sinusitis, odontogenic sinusitis