Draf III frontal sinus surgery for the treatment of Pott’s puffy tumour in adults: our case series and a review of frontal sinus anatomy risk factors

PURPOSE: We present our case series of four adult patients with Pott’s puffy tumour (PPT), successfully treated with Draf III over a mean period of 11 months. A critical review of the literature is also provided. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients undergoing Draf III for PPT from January 2018 to January 2019 was performed. RESULTS: Four consecutive male patients ranging from 26 to 62 years, with a mean age of 49.5 ± 16.3 years, undergoing Draf III for Pott’s puffy tumour were included. Two patients had a Kuhn type IV frontal cell narrowing the frontonasal pathway and presented without previous sinus surgery, whereas the other two had previous sinus surgery. The success rate of the operation was 100% with an average length of follow-up of 11 months (range 5–18). CONCLUSION: In our experience, the Draf III procedure is a highly effective treatment of PPT. In particular, we have demonstrated it to be very effective in accessing highly positioned Kuhn type IV cells.