To study the effect of septoplasty in relieving nasal obstruction and on quality of life

Abstract

Septoplasty is a surgical procedure to correct the deviation of nasal septum. Nasal obstruction is the most common complaint in majority of these patients. There are two potential ways to assess the outcome of surgery after septoplasty: objective and subjective measures. Subjective assessment is done in our study with Nasal obstruction symptom evaluation (NOSE) scoring. In the present study the effectiveness of septoplasty in treating nasal obstruction and its effect on quality of life was evaluated.Method:A prospective randomized study was done on 100 patients with symptomatic deviated nasal septum. These patients underwent septoplasty between the study period of November 2018 to May 2020. Follow up was done for a period of 6 months after surgery. We used NOSE scoring to analyze the severity of symptoms both preoperatively and postoperatively and did diagnostic nasal endoscopy to compare the results and to look for residual deviations.Results:We found statistically significant improvement in mean NOSE score during the follow up visits. The mean value increment was 48.70 and 48.95 after 3 months and 6 months respectively following surgery (p <0.0001). Each individual symptom score improvement was also compared which showed a significant improvement in all the four symptom scores out of five. Diagnostic nasal endoscopic evaluation also showed promising results with less residual deformity on follow up.Interpretation and conclusion:Septoplasty is an effective surgical procedure for deviated nasal septum which produces significant symptomatic relief for the patient. Nasal obstruction symptom evaluation (NOSE) questionnaire effectively assessed the improvement in quality of life among the symptomatic patients.