Objective: Pyriform aperture enlargement or "pyriplasty" is an uncommonly used procedure for internal nasal valve obstruction in adults besides functional rhinoplasty, inferior turbinate reduction, and septoplasty. A systematic review of the literature was performed to analyze current surgical techniques, their suggested indications, and their related outcome in terms of success and complications.
Data sources: The search was performed on PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane databases.
Review methods: The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Studies on congenital, traumatic, tumoral, or infectious internal nasal valve obstruction were excluded.
Results: Eight articles were finally included. Three types of pyriplasty have been described according to the level of bone resection: low-level pyriplasty through the sublabial approach, mid-level pyriplasty through endonasal approach, and extended pyriplasty through either approach. Indications included (1) clinically or radiologically narrow pyriform aperture, (2) previously unsuccessful internal nasal valve surgery, (3) lateral nasal wall collapse, and (4) inferior turbinate's head hypertrophy. Subjective improvement of nasal obstruction was reported in these 4 indications. No major complication was encountered.
Conclusion: Pyriplasty for nasal obstruction is a simple and safe procedure that could be effective in selected cases. However, level of evidence is currently low, and success rate may vary with indications and pyriplasty techniques. Moreover, there is no clear definition of normal pyriform aperture dimensions to date. Further prospective studies are thereby necessary and should include radiological analysis of pyriform aperture and validated nasal obstruction measurement tools.
Keywords: alveolar nerve; collapse; endonasal; lateral nasal wall; nasal obstruction; nasal resistance; nasal valve; pyriform aperture; stenosis; sublabial.