The efficacy of nasal surgery among patients with and without allergies

Surgical intervention has been used widely for the correction of nasal obstruction. However, there are only a small number of studies confirming its advantages. This study summarizes our experience regarding patients' satisfaction with the operation results. We also examined whether the presence of allergic rhinitis can be used as a reliable predictive criterion for the operation outcome in an adult population. Fifty-three patients with perennial nasal obstruction who had been referred for nasal surgery underwent allergic evaluation. Patients with a positive skin-prick test to a perennial allergen were included in the allergic group, whereas those with a positive skin test to a seasonal allergen only or with negative skin tests were included in the nonallergic group. Patients filled out a symptom score before the operation and at 6 and 12 months after the operation and also were asked to grade their overall satisfaction with the outcome of the operation. One year after surgery, only 20 patients (38%) were definitely satisfied with its results. Twenty-eight patients (53%) were willing to undergo the same operation again had they known of its outcome in advance. There was no difference between the allergic and nonallergic groups regarding patient satisfaction or willingness to undergo the same operation again. We conclude that the allergic status of the patient is not an effective predictive criterion for the outcome of nasal surgery in patients with perennial nasal obstruction. The efficacy of this procedure is rather low and better preoperative criteria are required to improve its efficacy.