Surgical Management of Compound Depressed Fracture of Frontal Sinus, Cerebrospinal Rhinorrhea and Pneumocephalus

The management of fracture of the frontal sinus and its neighborhood, cerebrospinal rhinorrhea and pneumocephalus have been discussed by several authors. Among others, Teachenor,¹Dandy,²Peet,³Rand,⁴Coleman,⁵Cairns⁶and Adson⁷have added much to our present day knowledge of this subject. Certain phases of the treatment are well worked out and generally accepted; other phases are in dispute. It has been our privilege to see many examples of fracture of the frontal sinus at the Receiving and the Grace Hospitals in Detroit. A portion of this experience was reported in 1932 (Gurdjian and Shawan⁸). During the past twelve years (March 1930 to March 1942) we have treated 31 patients with compound depressed fracture of the frontal sinus and its neighborhood, 13 with cerebrospinal rhinorrhea and 9 with pneumocephalus. In this paper the lessons learned from the management of these conditions will be discussed It is generally accepted that simple