Surgery offers the optimum modality of treatment for inverted papilloma although a considerable range of operative approaches have been described. The results are presented in a cohort of 37 cases treated by both endoscopic and combined endoscopic and external approaches with a recurrence rate of eight and 21 per cent respectively. This series is compared with those in the literature and demonstrates that it is extent of disease which primarily determines the choice of surgical approach, with previous treatment, individual patient factors and surgical expertise as secondary determinants.