Laser-assisted outpatient septal spur surgery / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#The objective was to investigate the effectiveness of holmium-YAG laser-assisted septoplasty for septal deviations under local anesthesia.@*METHOD@#All holmium-YAG laser-assisted septoplasty procedures performed at Beijing hospital (Beijing, China) between August 2009 and May 2012. These patients were operated upon in an outpatient surgical suite.@*RESULT@#The success rate after surgery with regard to nasal obstruction (50 patients) is 92.0% (46 patients) of patients reporting remarkable improvement. Of the 32 patients with rhinologic headaches, A total of 28 subjects (87.5%) had their headache scores improved by 50% or more after surgery; nine (28.1%) were pain free at the last follow-up; four (12.5%) had a less than 25% reduction in their headache score. There were no patients with severe postoperative bleeding. There were no patients with septal perforation.@*CONCLUSION@#The holmium-YAG laser-assisted septoplasty is a useful approach to correct septal deviations. There is improved safety due to the enhanced viewing conditions and ample operating space during septal surgery, particularly in posterior septal spurs. The holmium-YAG laser-assisted septoplasty can limit the dissection to the area of deviation, thereby reducing postoperative swelling and the development of complications. It also has other advantages including lower medical costs, and faster return to full activity.