Subjective assessment of outcomes of septoplasty

Abstract

Septal deviation is the leading cause of chronic nasal obstruction. The procedure of choice for treating these patients is septoplasty. We aimed at assessing the disease-specific quality-of-life outcomes of septoplasty by means of a questionnaire. Ours was a retrospective study where 100 patients who underwent septoplasty between 2014 and 2015 in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology were analyzed. A modification of the nasal obstruction symptom evaluation (NOSE) scale was used to compare the pre- and postoperative symptoms. We found that nasal obstruction was seen in all patients. A significant improvement was seen in all symptoms of the modified NOSE scale. An improvement in the general condition of the patients was seen postsurgery. The modification in the NOSE scale addresses a wider range of symptomology and is a good tool for subjective assessment of septoplasty.