Clinical effectiveness of coblation inferior turbinate reduction

Abstract

objective We sought to determine the safety and clinical effectiveness of coblation (short for “cold ablation”) inferior turbinate reduction for turbinate hypertrophy. Methods A consecutive series of adult patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy were treated with the coblation technique in the office setting. Subjective symptoms were assessed prior to treatment and at the 3- and 6-month intervals after treatment with the Rhinosinusitis Symptom Inventory (RSI) and a short nasal symptom questionnaire. Results Twenty-four of 26 treated patients completed the protocol. At the 3-month follow-up, statistically significant decreases in the nasal and overall symptom domains of the RSI were noted (changes of −10.5 and −8.7, with P = 0.018 and P = 0.015, respectively). These improvements were also significant at the 6-month follow-up (−20.1 and −15.8 with, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). At the 3-month interval, nasal obstruction and amount of time with nasal obstruction were significantly decreased ( P = 0.006 and P = 0.011, respectively). These decreases remained statistically significant and slightly larger in magnitude at 6 months ( P = 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively). Postoperative epistaxis occurred in 2 of 24 (8.3%) of patients. Conclusion Coblation inferior turbinate reduction is an effective procedure for inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The clinical benefit persists at 6 months after the procedure.