[Evaluation with acoustic rhinometry of surgical results in patients undergoing septoplasty]

We used acoustic rhinometry to evaluate the surgical results of septoplasty in patients with nasal respiratory insufficiency caused by morphological abnormalities of the nasal septum. Acoustic rhinometry is a relatively new exploration method for the nasal cavity that yields objective spatial measurements. These measurements are the cross sections and volumes of the nasal cavity divided longitudinally into two regions, an anterior region up to 32 mm from the nasal orifices and the posterior region, up to 64 mm from the same point. We studied 45 patients with nasal respiratory insufficiency who had undergone septoplasty. Measurements were made before and after surgery. Our results show a clear increase in nasal sections and volumes after surgery. They confirm the benefits of acoustic rhinometry as a method for quantifying morphological abnormalities of the nasal cavity.