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An maxillary cyst
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

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A maxillary sinus cyst, also commonly known as a maxillary sinus cyst, is a benign cystic growth in one of the sinus cavities. It is filled with fluid and has thin, elastic walls, resembling a bubble in appearance. A maxillary sinus cyst is formed as a result of a disruption in the outflow of the gland, which is localized in the mucous membrane.
Causes maxillary cysts
The cause of a maxillary sinus cyst is a pathological blockage of the gland duct, the main function of which is to produce secretion. The gland is located on the mucous membrane and lines the sinus. The cyst can disappear on its own, but there is a very high probability that over time it will again fill with pathological fluid.
Risk factors
Risk factors for the development of a cystic formation in the maxillary sinus cavity may include chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, and other diseases associated with dysfunction of the maxillary sinuses. Also, a cyst may be provoked by a violation of the structure of the outlet of the maxillary sinus, which is called the anastomosis. If it is widened, the air flow, entering the sinus, systematically hits the same point, which can cause pathology of the nasal mucosa.
In addition, the cause of the cyst can be diseases of the upper teeth and gums - these are caries, periodontal disease and other sources of oral infection. Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the health of your teeth, maintain oral hygiene, regularly visit the dentist, and prevent the formation of inflammatory processes.
Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of the maxillary cyst is that when any infection gets in, the affected cells separate from healthy tissues and their formation is enclosed in a dense membrane. Thus, the pathological process is limited within the maxillary sinus. Often, the patient does not even suspect that he is sick with this disease, but when he comes to the doctor with a cold or sinusitis, as a result of instrumental diagnostics, a cyst is found in the maxillary sinuses. A simple cyst, which does not cause any complaints from the patient, and which was detected absolutely by chance, can be found in every tenth person. Usually, cystic neoplasms in the human body are removed surgically, but if it does not cause any discomfort, then you can do without surgery.
Symptoms maxillary cysts
Most often, a maxillary sinus cyst occurs without any symptoms. As mentioned earlier, it is detected after tests and X-rays only if the patient goes to the hospital for completely different reasons. The cyst does not require surgery or treatment if it does not cause any discomfort to the patient; it should simply be examined periodically by the attending physician.
But there have also been cases where the maxillary cyst caused intense pain in the maxillary sinuses, severe headaches, runny nose, including mucus discharge and nasal congestion. The maxillary cyst can cause frequent exacerbations of sinusitis. It causes a lot of inconvenience to people involved in diving, since when diving, they experience very unpleasant pressure in the nasal area.
The size of the maxillary sinus cyst is not related to the severity of symptoms. For example, a large formation in the lower part of the sinus may be completely unnoticeable to the patient. Whereas a small cyst in the upper wall of the maxillary sinus leads to complications and headaches. This phenomenon is explained by the proximity of the trigeminal nerve branch in this area.
A cyst of the right maxillary sinus, just like a cyst of the left maxillary sinus, in rare cases has its own specific symptoms, which manifest themselves in one-sided headaches and nasal congestion on the side where the cystic formation is located.
Sometimes headaches in patients with this disease become constant or periodic, most often associated with changes in weather conditions or in the spring-autumn period. They may also be bothered by difficulty breathing through the nose, dizziness, spasms in the upper jaw, which leads to rapid fatigue and decreased performance, as well as irritability, deterioration of appetite, sleep and memory. This group of patients is most susceptible to the possibility of frequent exacerbations of chronic sinusitis and rhinitis.
Sometimes patients notice a profuse discharge of clear yellow fluid from one side of the nose. This usually occurs as a result of a rupture and emptying of a cystic formation.
Cysts of both maxillary sinuses most often appear as a result of impaired nasal breathing and, when they reach large sizes, can cause anatomical changes in the skull, which is caused by severe pain that spreads to almost the entire face, so painful cysts must be removed.
Forms
Retention cyst of the maxillary sinus
Retention cysts of the maxillary sinus are also called true. They are formed as a result of obstruction of the ducts of the glands of the nasal mucosa. Edema, inflammation, obstruction of the airways, hyperplastic or cicatricial changes can contribute to the appearance of a retention cyst in the patient's body.
When a cyst is formed, the gland continues to produce secretion, and because of this, the cyst constantly increases in size, and its walls stretch. Most often, cysts of this type are located on the outer wall of the sinus, and are lined with columnar epithelium from the inside. Large retention cysts of the maxillary sinus with progressive growth lead to stretching, and its walls become thinner, which is very clearly visible on an X-ray. In order to prevent the appearance of a retention cyst in the maxillary sinuses, you need to carefully monitor your health and treat rhinitis in a timely manner. Do not think that a cold or acute respiratory viral infection will go away on their own, because they can leave you with such an "ill-fated" gift as a cystic formation in the maxillary sinuses. And you will be lucky if the cyst does not develop, because otherwise surgery cannot be avoided.
Odontogenic cyst of the maxillary sinus
An odontogenic cyst of the maxillary sinus is a cyst of the maxillary sinus that occurs as a result of infection from pathological areas of the roots of the teeth and adjacent tissues. The most common types of cysts are:
- follicular odontogenic formations developing at the age of ten to thirteen years from an insufficiently developed impacted base of the tooth or in complex cases of inflammation of baby teeth.
- Perirhilar odontogenic formations are formed from granulomas at the apex of the root and, as they grow, cause the death of bone tissue and gradually penetrate into the sinus cavity.
Complications and consequences
From the above information, you have already learned that a maxillary sinus cyst can live "in harmony" with the patient's body, without showing itself to him for many years, or perhaps his entire conscious life, and at the same time the person will feel relatively healthy.
But not all patients are so lucky. The consequences of a maxillary sinus cyst can have a very bad effect on the human body. It can cause the development of chronic sinusitis.
In addition, the cyst can provoke the death of bone tissue, which leads to the formation of voids in the dental canals. It can burst on its own without any intervention, and then all its contents will spread through the respiratory tract, part of which will come out through the nose, and the other part, remaining inside the body, will provoke infection of healthy tissues.
A maxillary sinus cyst can increase in size and lead to anatomical changes in the skull - this is the worst outcome.
Diagnostics maxillary cysts
Diagnosis of a maxillary cyst includes instrumental and laboratory research methods. An X-ray will always show an accurate clinical picture. To take a picture, a special contrast agent is injected into the sinuses, which will help to identify a cystic formation even if its size is relatively small. A good alternative to an X-ray is a computed tomography scan, it will easily determine the position and size of the neoplasm. There is another effective method for diagnosing a maxillary cyst, which confirms the diagnosis after an X-ray - this is a puncture of the maxillary sinus, but not everyone decides to do this procedure, solely because of the fear of the needle and puncture. There is also a false opinion that if the puncture is done once, then you will have to resort to this far from unpleasant procedure often in the future. This is a completely wrong belief. Puncture helps the doctor determine the treatment tactics, since based on its results, he identifies the nature of the contents and draws conclusions about the diagnosis.
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Treatment maxillary cysts
Treatment of a maxillary sinus cyst is not required if there are no symptoms and nothing bothers you, but there is a need for periodic examination by your doctor as a preventive measure. If your doctor decides that you do not need surgery, you can begin treating it at home. Here are some simple folk medicine recipes:
- You need to take a freshly picked aloe leaf and squeeze the juice out of it. Put 3-4 drops of this juice into each nostril.
- Wash the tuber of the forest cyclamen thoroughly and grate it on a fine grater. Fold the gauze in four layers and squeeze out the juice with it. Mix one part of the cyclamen juice with four parts of water. You need to put two drops of this home remedy in your nose every morning. After that, you need to lie down for 1-15 minutes. This procedure should be done for a week. After two months, the course is repeated.
- The juice of the leaves of the golden mustache will help you get rid of the cyst if you put 2 drops in each nostril in the morning and evening.
All these procedures should be performed only with the permission of the attending physician, so as not to harm your body and not provoke a relapse and rupture of the cyst.
Also, when using traditional medicine methods, remember that some herbs and components of medicines can cause an allergic reaction and worsen the disease. Therefore, be careful and do not self-medicate.
Removal of maxillary sinus cyst
Only your attending physician can make a decision to remove a maxillary sinus cyst, and only if the cyst has reached a large size and interferes with the patient's normal life, causing painful spasms and other symptoms. The cyst is removed during surgery.
The first option for cyst removal surgery is the simplest, most accessible and most common. It does not require a long postoperative hospital stay. Only a maximum of one week in the hospital and the patient is ready to be discharged. During the surgery, the patient is given anesthesia and a hole is made in the fold between the upper jaw and the lip, half a centimeter in diameter, and using a special small endoscope, the cyst is removed from the sinus. After the surgery, a small bone defect remains, but over time it scars. The only drawback of such an operation is an uncomfortable, and sometimes painful, sensation in the upper jaw. Also, the patient, due to the mucous membrane damaged during the surgery, may be bothered by manifestations of sinusitis.
Endoscopic removal of maxillary sinus cyst
Endoscopic removal of the maxillary sinus cyst is a more modern and gentle version of the operation, which is performed using special fiber-optic technology. This operation does not require mechanical damage to the bone, since access to the maxillary sinus is through its natural outlet. Under the control of special equipment, the cyst is removed through the anastomosis. The entire operation lasts, depending on the complexity, from twenty to forty minutes. After the operation, the patient must rest for about three hours in the hospital, and then can go home. Currently, this is the most harmless and safe method of removing a maxillary sinus cyst, which does not involve mechanical damage to the integrity of the sinus. And of course, as a result - healthy functioning of the nose and auxiliary organs, without side effects and deviations.
Prevention
In order to never encounter such a disease and not suffer from its consequences, you must always remember about oral hygiene, regularly visit the dentist and promptly treat inflammatory processes of the maxillary sinus, caries and periodontosis. It is also very important to monitor your health and in no case neglect such diseases as rhinitis, sinusitis and other diseases of the nasal and paranasal cavities.
To avoid the reappearance of the cyst, it is necessary to completely eliminate the causative factors of its appearance, because the maxillary cyst itself is just one of the consequences of an untreated disease. Do not make independent decisions about the treatment of respiratory and nasal diseases, as this can lead to an exacerbation of the disease and infection of the body with pathogenic cells contained inside the cyst. With such diseases, it is always necessary to consult a doctor, since folk methods at best will slightly alleviate the symptoms and help in the cure, but they will not be able to completely cure the disease.