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Middle turbinate medialization and preservation in endoscopic sinus surgery
M Friedman1, R Landsberg, H Tanyeri
1Department of Otolaryngology and Bronchoesophagology, Rush-Presbyterian-Saint Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612-3833, USA.
Objective/Hypothesis:
Lateral synechia formation between the middle turbinate (MT) and the lateral nasal wall is the most common complication of endoscopic sinus surgery. In an attempt to prevent this complication, a simple technique to preserve and medialize the MT was studied.
Methods:
Five hundred patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery with MT medialization and preservation. The caudal end of the MT and the opposing septal mucosa were abraded with a microdebrider for controlled synechia formation in an attempt to avoid lateralization of the MT. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 18 months, with a mean follow-up of 10 months.
Results:
Ninety-three percent of the patients had successful MT medialization with a well-defined synechia between the septum and the MT.
Conclusions:
MT medialization with a microdebrider is simple, is reliable, and should be considered an alternative to turbinate resection or to other turbinate medialization techniques.