Management of Mucosal Contact Point Headache Using an Endoscopic Sinonasal Surgical Approach
mucosal contact point, headache, nasal septal deviation, inferior turbinate hypertrophy, surgery
AuthorsAbstractIntroduction: A mucosal contact point (MCP) is a condition in which mucosal surfaces within the nasal cavity come into contact, often resulting from nasal septal deviation or inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Management of headaches caused by MCPs may involve pharmacological therapy-such as intranasal corticosteroids and decongestants-as well as surgical interventions, including nasal-paranasal, septal, turbinate, or ethmoidsphenoid surgery. Objective: To provide information for clinicians in establishing an MCP diagnosis and to serve as a benchmark for the success of endoscopic sinonasal surgery in MCP cases. Case report: Two young adult women presented with headaches caused by mucosal contact points (MCP). One case involved mucosal contact between the bilateral concha bullosa (middle turbinates) and the nasal mucosa, managed with bilateral functional endoscopic sinus surgery; the other case involved a Mladina type 5 septal deviation, managed with endoscopic septoplasty. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed using the keywords ("mucosal contact point" OR "rhinogenic headache") AND ("management" OR "surgery"). Results: Six case reports relevant to the topic and available in full text were identified from a total of 18 search results. Conclusion: Two cases of mucosal contact point (MCP) with differing anatomical variations and endoscopic sinonasal surgical management were reported. Both cases showed a significant reduction in Visual Analog Scale scores following surgical intervention.
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