Study of inferior turbinate reconstruction with Medpor for the treatment of empty nose syndrome

Abstract

4.

Correlation between remnant inferior turbinate volume and symptom severity of empty nose syndrome

“…One of the strengths of our current study is the presentation of objective data on remnant inferior turbinate volume and its relationship with subjective symptoms in ENS patients. Previous studies have only focused on the subjective symptoms of these patients or were unable to clearly reveal the direct correlation between subjective symptoms and remnant turbinate tissue, which is strongly associated with aerodynamics, nasal humidification, temperature control, and mucociliary clearance of the nasal cavity . However, it was a single‐center study with a small number of subjects, and therefore the limited statistical power is main weakness of this study.…”

“…Previous studies have only focused on the subjective symptoms of these patients 2,3,8,11,[16][17][18] or were unable to clearly reveal the direct correlation between subjective symptoms and remnant turbinate tissue, which is strongly associated with aerodynamics, nasal humidification, temperature control, and mucociliary clearance of the nasal cavity. 5,6,[19][20][21][22] However, it was a single-center study with a small number of subjects, and therefore the limited statistical power is main weakness of this study. The nervous system and physiology of the inferior turbinate is not yet fully understood.…”

Empty Nose Syndrome

“…Turbinate reconstruction surgery using implantable biomaterials, or endonasal microplasty, has been described using autografts (e.g., temporalis fibromuscular graft [24], cartilage [22,25]), silastic [26], hydroxyapatite cement [27], hyaluronic acid [28], acellular dermal matrix (Alloderm®, LifeCell Coroporation, Bridgewater, NJ) [1••, 2•, 26], and porous polyethylene (Medpor®, Stryker Corporate, Kalamazoo, MI) [29][30][31]. For both inferior and middle turbinate reconstruction, the implant is tunneled into the submucoperichondrial plane of the septum or floor of the nose adjacent to the location of the former turbinate [2•].…”

Defining surgical criteria for empty nose syndrome: Validation of the office‐based cotton test and clinical interpretability of the validated Empty Nose Syndrome 6‐Item Questionnaire

“…It is performed in the office through the placement of dry cotton pledgets in the specific nasal region(s) harboring deficient or absent inferior turbinate tissue . In the absence of topical or local anesthesia, the patient's symptoms are then compared, and a reduction in nasal symptoms (or increase in the ease and comfort of nasal breathing) is considered a “positive cotton test.” These patients can thereafter be considered candidates for inferior turbinate augmentation . Until recently, there has been no validated disease‐specific questionnaire; consequently, no validation of the cotton test in the evaluation of ENS patients has been performed to date.…”

“…These patients can thereafter be considered candidates for inferior turbinate augmentation. 5,[7][8][9] Until recently, there has been no validated disease-specific questionnaire; consequently, no validation of the cotton test in the evaluation of ENS patients has been performed to date.…”