Efficacy of inferior turbinoplasty with the use of CO(2) laser, radiofrequency, and electrocautery.

BACKGROUND: Inferior turbinate surgery is one of the most commonly performed methods for the treatment of rhinitis symptoms, especially nasal obstruction. This is a comparative study of CO2 laser, electrocautery, and radiofrequency turbinoplasty in the treatment of rhinitis symptoms. METHODS: From 1994 to 2011, 3219 patients were enrolled in the study. Two hundred eighty-three patients were lost during follow-.up. Of the remaining 2936 patients, 1066 were managed using the CO2 laser, whereas 664 and 1206 were managed with the use of radiofrequency and electrocautery, respectively. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia. Patients were asked to evaluate their symptoms with the visual analog scale (VAS) preoperatively, as well as 1 month and 1 year postoperatively. Rhinomanometry was used to objectively evaluate the effect on nasal obstruction. RESULTS: Mean VAS values preoperatively, regarding nasal obstruction, were 7.43 ± 0.96, 7.33 ± 0.87, and 7.64 ± 0.95 in the CO2 laser, radiofrequency, and electrocautery group, respectively. One month postoperatively, the score was significantly improved in all groups (CO2 laser, 3.44 ± 0.99; radiofrequency, 3.26 ± 0.76; electrocautery, 3.19 ± 0.79), which was almost stable in the 1st year of follow-up. Similar results were also observed in the evaluation of sneezing and rhinorrhea. Outcome did not statistically differ between the three methods. CONCLUSION: The CO2 laser, radiofrequency and electrocautery offer excellent postoperative results in turbinoplasty cases under local anesthesia.

Decrease recurrence rate of condylomata acuminata by photodynamic therapy combined with CO2 laser in mainland China: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Condylomata acuminata (CA) are caused by human papillomavirus. Most conventional therapies for CA have high recurrence rate. OBJECTIVES: To compare the recurrence rate of 5-aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) combined with CO2 laser and CO2 laser alone for CA treatment in mainland China. METHODS: In this meta-analysis, 2,048 cases of CA from 22 articles were divided into two groups. The treatment group was treated by using ALA-PDT combined with CO2 laser, and CO2 laser alone was applied in the control group. The recurrence rate of the two groups was calculated and compared. RESULTS: The recurrence rate was 42.67% (451/1,057) in the control group and 10.29% (102/991) in the treatment group, with a significant statistical difference between the two groups (χ(2) = 271.98, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: ALA-PDT combined with CO2 laser was more effective in decreasing the recurrence rate of CA compared with CO2 laser alone. It might offer a wide clinical application for CA treatment.

Rosai-Dorfman disease of the nasal cavities: A CO(2) laser excision.

BACKGROUND: Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare nonneoplastic histiocytic proliferative disorder characterized by painless massive lymphadenopathy. Extranodal manifestations frequently occur in the head and neck area. METHODS: We report the clinical and histological features of nasal cavities and cervical lymph node RDD in a 72-year-old woman, who complained of major nasal obstruction and hyposmia. RESULTS: Nasal endoscopy revealed polypoid masses arising from the turbinates; the septum was intact. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed staining for S-100 protein, CD68, and alpha-1 antitrypsin. The presence of the Epstein-Barr virus was revealed by serology and also by in situ hybridization. The general examination and systemic evaluation did not find other extranodal localization. CONCLUSION: Because the disease is known for not responding to local or systemic steroids, CO(2) laser excision was used to clear the nasal obstruction with a satisfactory result. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first description of the use of laser excision for nasal cavities RDD.

Assessing the optical performance of multifocal (diffractive) intraocular lenses.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: While the optical performance of monofocal refractive lenses can be measured quite easily, more efforts are required to assess the performance of multifocal lenses, due to imaging to several foci. The purpose of this study was to develop a rugged test setup for evaluation of the optical properties of intraocular lenses (IOLs) in conformity to the International Standard ISO 11979. METHODS: We built a test setup in order to measure the point spread function and to determine the modulation transfer function (MTF) of IOLs. We measured three multifocal IOLs with (1) a diffraction limited model cornea and (2) an individualized aspheric model cornea which shows a significant amount of spherical aberration. RESULTS: All the three IOL samples tested showed a different impact of spherical aberration on the MTF. The bispheric lenses (Alcon and Dr Schmidt) showed a degradation of the MTF and Strehl ratio with model (2) compared to model (1). In contrast, the MTF of the Tecnis lens, which has a prolate aspheric front surface, improved dramatically in combination with model (2). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the functional capability of our measurement system by presentation of a set of working examples. Two different model corneas were used to study the influence of spherical aberration on the MTF of our working examples. An aspheric model cornea, which had already been shown to be suitable for testing monofocal aspherics, was shown to be well suited for testing aspheric multifocal lenses.