Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of septoplasty and septoplasty + bilateral radio frequency ablation of inferior turbinate (b-RFAIT) according to the type of operation, age groups, gender of patients, and the duration of control period by using Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale.
Materials and methods: Prospective observational study was undertaken in the otolaryngology department of a training hospital. Using the NOSE scale, the study prospectively compared the results of septoplasty only and septoplasty with b-RFAIT in the treatment of nasal obstruction caused by the combination of septal deviation and turbinate hypertrophy. Patients were divided into 2 groups. The first group had only septoplasty and the second group had septoplasty with b-RFAIT. General and local anesthesia were applied in both groups. To review clinical success, all patients were controlled at the 1st week, 1st month, and 3rd month.
Results: One hundred seventy-eight adult patients (male/female: 127/51) with chronic nasal obstruction complaint were enrolled in this prospective study. Our data demonstrated significant improvement from baseline after 24 months for the NOSE scores in both the septoplasty and septoplasty + b-RFAIT groups. No statistical difference was noted in the amount of postoperative improvement between the 2 treatment groups ( P = 0.306). No significant difference was observed between general and local anesthesia with respect to patients' preop and postop mean scores ( P > 0.05). There was a significant difference between the age of patients' postoperative mean ( P < 0.001). There were 4 postoperative means with respect to control time. There was an 82.29% decrease in the complaints of patients at 0 to 6 months, 80.51% decrease at 7 to 12 months, 76.1% decrease at 13 to 18 months, and 59.67% decrease at 19 to 24 months. Only the last group had a significant difference regarding mean change in scores ( P < 0.001).
Conclusions: This study shows that septoplasty + bilateral turbinate radiofrequency should be applied to patients who suffer from septum deviation with concha hypertrophy. Postoperative NOSE scale shows that the success of operation does not depend on the gender of patients and operation types (general or local anesthesia). We conclude that younger patients (18-40 age) who have obstruction with septal deviation and septum deviation with concha hypertrophy benefit more from operation than older patients do.
Copyright © 2021 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.