Diode Laser Turbinate Reduction in Allergic Rhinitis: A Cross-sectional Study

Turbinate reduction procedures are recommended for inferior turbinate hypertrophy in allergic rhinitis that fail to respond to medical therapy. Several modalities like turbinectomy, submucosal resection and tissue ablation are available for this purpose. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of diode laser in the treatment of symptomatic inferior turbinate hypertrophy in allergic rhinitis and explore complications related to the procedure.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary care centre. The study enrolled 60 patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy with failure of medical therapy. Inferior turbinate reduction was performed under local anaesthesia using diode laser. All the patients were evaluated subjectively for various nasal symptoms using visual analogue score scale preoperatively and during postoperative visit at three months.

The age ranged from 16 to 47 years with median age of 28 years. Twenty nine were male and thirty one were female. There was significant improvement in symptoms like nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, sneezing and decreased sense of smell. Immediate post-operative pain, crusting and persistent nasal discharge were observed as complications of the procedure. However, there was no incidence of mucosal oedema and synechiae formation in our study.

Diode laser turbinate reduction procedure is safe, minimally invasive and effective in relieving the symptoms associated with inferior turbinate hypertrophy in allergic rhinitis resistant to medical therapy and can be performed on a day care basis under local anaesthesia.