Silent sinus syndrome is a spontaneous, asymptomatic collapse of the maxillary sinus

Maxillary sinus

The pyramid shaped maxillary sinus is the largest of the paranasal sinuses, and drains into the nose. It is present at birth as rudimentary air cells, and develops throughout childhood.-General characteristics:...

 and orbital floor associated with negative sinus pressures. It can cause painless facial asymmetry , diplopia

Diplopia

Diplopia, commonly known as double vision, is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in relation to each other...

 and enophthalmos

Enophthalmos

Enophthalmos is the recession of the eyeball within the orbit.It may be a congenital anomaly, or be acquired as a result of trauma , Horner's syndrome, silent sinus syndrome, or phthisis bulbi....

. Usually the diagnosis is suspected clinically, and it can be confirmed radiologically by characteristic imaging features that include maxillary sinus outlet obstruction, sinus opacification, and sinus volume loss caused by inward retraction of the sinus walls. Treatment is surgical

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

involving making an outlet for mucous drainage from the obstructed sinus.

External Links

• CT&MR Scans of Silent Sinus