Trends in turbinate surgery literature: a 35-year review

A MEDLINE search was used to identify articles involving all forms of turbinate surgery over a 35-year period. Five hundred and sixty-one papers were identified. Of these, 283 specifically detailed turbinate surgery. These demonstrated a marked increase in the number of papers detailing endoscopic and laser turbinate surgery in the last 5 years. No randomised controlled studies were identified describing inferior turbinate surgery for nasal obstruction or middle turbinate surgery for any cause. The evidence supporting the efficacy of these procedures remains debatable. Research in this field appears to be driven by technological advancement rather than by establishment of patient benefit. Properly conducted randomised controlled trials are required to establish whether there is a long-term patient benefit from these commonly performed operations.