[Microdebrider-assisted partial turbinoplasty: technique and results in perennial non-allergic rhinitis]

To assess objective and subjective outcomes in patients with perennial non-allergic rhinitis who had undergone endoscopic microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty.

Twenty patients (13 men and 7 women; age range, 15-64 years; mean age, 42.6 years) were included in a prospective study. Each patient had a perennial non-allergic rhinitis with substantial mucosal hypertrophy of the inferior turbinates, resistant to a 4- to 6-week course of nasal saline irrigations and nasal steroid spray. Then, they underwent endoscopic microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty with follow-up 6 months after surgery. This technique describes an elevator incorporated into a small microdebrider blade (2.0 mm). It provides a method for achieving the goals of volumetric reduction with mucosal preservation, with 0O endoscopic guidance, and minimal risk of complications. Objective outcomes were evaluated by peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF), an easy and highly reproducible measurement. Subjective symptoms were measured by a standard 10-cm visual analog scale, and analyzed before, at 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery.

Preoperative PNIF measurement was 65 L/min, 98 L/min at 1 month, 123 L/min at 3 months and 126 l/min at 6 months. Statistical analysis (Wilcoxon signed rank test) showed significant improvement between preoperative and 1, 3 and 6 months. Subjective nasal obstruction improvement was statistically significant between preoperative and 1, 3 and 6 months.

Our results suggest that microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty is effective for decreasing objective and subjective nasal in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis who have substantial nasal congestion.