Microdebrider-assisted turbinoplasty versus submucosal diathermy in treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy

Abstract

The surgical treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH) is challenging. Submucosal diathermy (SMD) is a well-known surgical procedure used for the treatment of ITH, microdebrider-assisted rhinoplasty (MAT) is relatively a newer technique used in the management of ITH. To evaluate the effect of MAT on inferior turbinate size and nasal airway patency in patients with bilateral ITH in comparison to SMD. Seventy-one patients presented with nasal obstruction due to bilateral ITH were allocated into two groups, group a (35 patients) were subjected to SMD and 36 patients in group B were subjected to MAT. All the patients had been sent to CT scan pre-operatively and at the third postoperative month to measure the cross-sectional areas of the inferior turbinate, also the subjective assessment of nasal airway patency was done by visual analog scale (VAS) preoperatively and at the end of 3ed post-operative month. The mean cross-sectional area of IT decreased from 163 mm2 preoperatively to 149.67 mm2 at the 3ed post-operative month in group A (P-value =0.02), and from 163.67 mm2 to 131mm2 in group B (P value= 0.004). Intergroup comparison had shown that there was a significant difference between MAT and SMD in decreasing the size of IT and relieving nasal obstruction at the 3ed postoperative month (p-value = 0.026 and 0.021 respectively). In conclusion, both MAT and SMD are effectively decreasing the size of the inferior turbinate and relieving nasal obstruction but with superior results in MAT.