Comparison of Submucosal Resection (Smr) and Cauterization in Treatment of Turbinate Hypertrophy



Berjis N¹ ; Okhovat A¹ ; Baloochi M¹ ; Bahrami S¹ ; Ashtari A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2011

Abstract

Background: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy is one of the major causes of nasal airway obstruction. Medical treatment often produces insufficient improvement; in these cases, surgical reduction of inferior turbinate can be proposed. Many different techniques are currently available for this aim. This study was conducted to compare the outcome of submucosal resection (SMR) and submucosal cauterration of the inferior turbinate. Methods: In a randomized single blind clinical trial, 66 patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy allocated to two groups randomly and operated with submucosal resection or submucosal cauterization. The nasal airway obstruction was assessed by physical exam and rhinomanometry before and 8 weeks after operation. Finding: 44 men and 22 women participated in study with mean age of 27.3 ± 7.8 years. Demographic factors and the nasal obstruction were matched in two groups. There was not any significant difference between two surgical modalities in direct evaluation and rhinomanometry findings 8 weeks after surgery. The patient satisfaction was the same in these methods. But bleeding rate was significantly less in submucosal resection (38.3 ± 21.7 cc) compared to submucosal cauterization (26.7 ± 17.8 cc). Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated that both submucosal resection and submucosal cauterization are effective in improvement of nasal obstruction and related nasal symptoms and there was no significant difference between them. Lower rate of bleeding in submacosal cauterization in this study supports this modality for management of inferior turbinate hypertrophy. © 2011, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.