Author(s)

Ebrahim Almulla¹, Dhaidan Alshammari², Raneem Alshaikh¹, Abdulrahman Almannai³, Noora Althawadi⁴, Waleed Janahi¹, Andrew Riskalla¹, Zied Zid¹

¹ENT Department, King Hamad University Hospital, Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain.
²Ministry of Health, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
³Ministry of Health, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
⁴Head and Neck Surgery Department, University College London Hospital, London, UK.

Objective: Diode-assisted laser turbinoplasty is a popular surgical technique that improves airflow during nasal obstruction. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a diode laser for turbinate hypertrophy by using rhinomanometry. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 199 patients for 13 months. Preoperative, intraoperative, and 6-week postoperative rhinomanometry values were measured. Results: The most common intraoperative symptoms were olfactory annoyance (barbecue smell) (76.4%) and a painful burning or stinging sensation (64.3%). The inspiratory and expiratory mean nasal airflow values increased both intraoperatively and postoperatively, illustrating the effect of decongestants and inferior turbinate surgery. Intraoperatively, inspiration improved by 262.73 ± 196.09 (p < 0.01) and expiration by 247.94 ± 180.05 (p < 0.01). Postoperative inspiration improved by 254.03 ± 199.08 (p < 0.01) and expiration by 244.05 ± 194.57 (p < 0.01). Postoperative snoring (22.6%, p = 0.026) and nasal obstruction (20.2%, p = 0.042) were significantly higher in female than in male patients. Conclusions: The therapeutic efficacy of using diode lasers in inferior turbinate resection was established in this study on the basis of rhinomanometric data with a follow-up of 6 weeks. Postoperative nasal obstruction was effectively decreased and the other symptoms displayed a female preponderance.

Diode-Assisted Laser Turbinoplasty, Nasal Obstruction, Turbinate Hypertrophy, Rhinomanometry

Almulla, E. , Alshammari, D. , Alshaikh, R. , Almannai, A. , Althawadi, N. , Janahi, W. , Riskalla, A. and Zid, Z. (2021) Therapeutic Efficacy of Diode Laser Turbinoplasty on Nasal Obstruction Estimated with Rhinomanometry. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 10, 487-496. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2021.106043.