The Efficacy of Posterior Resection of Inferior Turbinate on Patients Who Have Recurred Nasal Obstruction after Inferior Turbinate Surgery

Abstract

Background and ObjectivesZZVarious surgical techniques have been tried to relieve nasal obstruction in patients who have hypertrophic inferior turbinate. Recently, coblators and microdebriders are the favored surgical procedure. This study is aimed at evaluating the long term efficacy of posterior resection of inferior turbinate performed on patients for whom the previous inferior turbinate surgery had not relieved the symptoms of nasal obstruction. Subjects and MethodZZWe selected 27 patients who have had previous inferior turbinate surgery, but were not relieved of the symptom for nasal obstruction. Under local or general anesthesia, hypertrophied posterior part of inferior turbinate was removed. The symptom changes of nasal obstruction and patients satisfaction were checked pre and postoperatively at 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 month by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score. The minimal cross-sectional area of second notch and volume of nasal cavity were measured at 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 month after operation. ResultsZZThere were significant improvement in the VAS score of nasal obstruction and patient satisfaction after the operation. The minimal cross-sectional area of second notch did not change significantly after surgery, but the nasal cavity volume was significantly improved after surgery. ConclusionZZThis study suggests that posterior resection of inferior turbinate is an effective surgical procedure for patients who have hypertrophic inferior turbinate especially on the posterior part.