Silent sinus syndrome: An imploding antrum syndrome

Abstract

Silent sinus syndrome (SSS) is a rare entity that is associated with spontaneous, painless, unilateral enophthalmos and hypoglobus resulting from downward bowing of the orbital floor in the absence of any symptomatic sinonasal disease. The diagnosis is suspected clinically, but it is confirmed radiologically by its characteristic imaging features that include maxillary sinus outlet obstruction, sinus opacification and sinus volume loss caused by inward retraction of the sinus walls. The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with the clinical and imaging features of the SSS, along with a brief discussion about its pathogenesis and treatment, which is relatively unknown among oral and maxillofacial radiologists.

Keywords

• Chronic maxillary atelectasia
• enophthalmos
• hypoglobus
• imploding antrum syndrome
• silent sinus syndrome