A preliminary numerical study of nasal air conditioning following maxillary sinus stent implantation

Sinus stent implantation (SSI) has been widely used in refractory sinusitis surgery, but it often leads to postoperative crusting and infections, while its impact on nasal air conditioning remains unclear. In this study, two post- functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) sinonasal cavity models were used to virtually reconstruct three left maxillary sinus stent implantation (MSSI) models with varying implantation depths (D). Computational analysis was conducted to evaluate temperature and humidity changes in the nasal cavity and around the stent under different D and inhalation conditions. Results showed no significant changes in overall airflow distribution following MSSI. However, local airflow velocity increased slightly inside the stent and decreased outside. Temperature and humidity exchanges were primarily concentrated in the anterior nasal cavity. In addition, there was a decrease of water exchange and an increase of the temperature at the implantation site, and the water mass fraction and temperature correlated with the stent geometry. Deeper implantation resulted in greater reductions in relative humidity, contributing more directly to the observed dryness around the stent. These findings indicate that MSSI alters water transfer at the implantation site, which laid a theoretical foundation for an in-depth understanding of post-MSSI nasal care and protection. This study introduced a novel approach for sinus stent design and surgical simulation.