Abstract
Introduction Septoplasty and turbinoplasty are common surgical interventions used to relieve nasal
obstructive symptoms. Since it is difficult to measure the degree of nasal blockage,
current literature wonders about the frequent performance of these procedures.
Objective To evaluate the perceived change in the nasal obstruction and the quality of life
(QoL) of patients that underwent a septoplasty along with a turbinoplasty by applying
subjective scales, to describe the correlation between those scales, and to study
the impact of clinical factors in the postoperative outcomes.
Methods Prospective observational study. The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE),
the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI) were assessed.
The paired sample Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the difference between the pre-
and postoperative surveys. The correlation coefficient between the subjective scales
was calculated. A quantile regression was performed to evaluate the effect of surgery
on the results adjusted for clinical and demographic variables.
Results A total of 115 patients were interviewed. Postoperative NOSE scores were 45 points
lower (95% confidence interval [CI]: - 53.53–- 35.46; p < 0.001) in comparison with the NOSE preoperative scores. Obesity was the only statistically
significant factor associated with worse outcomes. Additionally, we found a high correlation
between the NOSE and VAS scores and a negative correlation between the GBI and postoperative
VAS scores.
Conclusion Nasal septoplasty, when paired with a turbinoplasty, decreases nasal obstruction
and improves QoL. Obesity was associated with worse results. There was a strong correlation
between the NOSE and the VAS results and between the GBI and postoperative VAS results.
Keywords
nasal obstruction - nasal septum - nasal surgical procedures - quality of life - visual
analogue scale
