Evaluation of radiofrequency lower turbinoplasty in patients with symptomatic nasal obstruction

Abstract

Introduction: Nasal discomfort is among the most common reasons for visits to the ENT clinic, with nasal obstruction being
the most common. Turbinate hypertrophy, regardless of its genesis, can generate subjective nasal obstruction, so medical
treatment is not sufficient and surgical treatment is necessary. Objective: To assess the efficacy of radiofrequency inferior
turbinectomy in patients with nasal obstruction based on symptom reduction. Materials and Methods: An analytical, longitudinal, retrospective study of the patients treated in the otorhinolaryngology service of the International Clinic of the San Borja Headquarters was carried out between the period January to December 2021; with a diagnosis of subjective nasal obstruction
and who underwent radiofrequency turbinectomy; demographic data such as age and gender were evaluated, subjective
preoperative and postoperative nasal obstruction was evaluated using the NOSE and SNOT-22 Questionnaire. Results: A
total of 79 patients were included, 36 (46.6%) were female and 43 (54.4%) were male, the average age was 36.72 years (SD
10.65), the preoperative NOSE assessment was 66.8 ± 19.27 and the Postoperative assessment was 8.48 SD(3.23) and 0.57
SD(1.59) at 3 and 6 months respectively; the SNOT-22 score was 62.19 ± 12.69 and the postoperative score was 9.94 SD(3.29)
and 0.67 SD(1.9) at 3 and 6 months respectively. The mean difference between the preoperative and at 3 and 6 months was
58.35 and 66.26 respectively for the NOSE questionnaire, while for the SNOT-22 questionnaire the mean difference between
the preoperative and postoperative at 3 and 6 months was 52.25 and 61.51 respectively. In both cases the difference in means
was significant with p<0.001. Conclusion: Radiofrequency turbinate reduction offers good postoperative results in patients
with subjective nasal obstruction.