Septal Button Insertion

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Nasal septal perforation has a variety of causes, and patients can present with a range of symptoms. Symptomatic patients are first treated by regular nasal douching, as this simple measure settles the symptoms in most cases. Those who require surgery are offered occlusion of the perforation using prosthesis or a surgical procedure. Patients are managed with a septal button if they are unsuitable to undergo surgery to close the perforation. Insertion of a nasal septal button can be difficult and invariably requires general anesthesia because of a moderate level of patient discomfort and operative complexity. A range of techniques and prostheses have been described in the literature. The senior author of this paper (S.A.) describes a technique that aims to simplify the insertion of a nasal septal button.