Coblation nasal septal swell body reduction for treatment of nasal obstruction: a preliminary report

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of coblation nasal septal swell body (NSB) reduction for the treatment of nasal obstruction in patients with abnormally thickened NSB. The study design was a retrospective clinical series conducted at a single tertiary medical center. Eight patients underwent coblation NSB reduction. Pre-operative and post-operative nasal functions were evaluated by acoustic rhinometry and subjective symptom scales. We also analyzed pre-operative CT scan images and nasal endoscopic findings. The mean maximal NSB width was 16.4±2.2mm on pre-operative coronal CT scan images. The mean visual analog scale score for nasal obstruction was decreased from preoperative 7.63±0.99 points to 3.88±0.92 points (postoperative 3months), 4.16±0.78 points (postoperative 6months), and 4.63±0.69 points (postoperative 1year). Six out of the eight patients were satisfied with the clinical outcome at 1year after the procedure. To the best of our knowledge, coblation NSB reduction has not yet been reported in the medical literature. Our results show that it can be an effective treatment modality for nasal valve narrowing in patients with abnormally thickened NSB.