Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Endoscopic Septoplasty with Limited Two-line Resection: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Septal Deviation
Published on: June 20, 2018
Extended approach or usage of nasoseptal flap is a risk factor for olfactory dysfunction after endoscopic anterior
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Ansan, South Korea; Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background:
The aim of this study was to compare olfactory function change in patients who underwent endoscopic skull-base surgery.
Methodology:
A total of 928 patients were included in this retrospective study. Olfactory function was measured using the non- validated Likert scale (0â€"100), the Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) and the butanol threshold test (BTT). Patients were divided into two groups: an endoscopic trans-sellar approach group (ETA, n = 768) and an extended endoscopic endonasal approach group (EEEA, n = 160). The ETA group was sub-divided into Nasoseptal flap (NSF) and no NSF groups.
Results:
Non-validated olfactory function significantly worsened in the EEEA and ETA-NSF groups compared with that in the ETA- no NSF group for at least 6 months post-operatively. Validated olfactory impairment (BTT and CC-SIT) was also significantly worse in the EEEA and NSF groups compared with that in the ETA-no NSF group 3 months post-operatively. Additionally, the degrees of non-validated and validated olfactory deterioration were not significantly different between the EEEA and ETA-NSF groups. We also found that CC-SIT score changes were significantly impaired in tuberculum sellae meningioma patients than in craniopharyn- gioma patients.
Conclusions:
We conclude that NSF was the key factor that led to olfactory impairment after endoscopic skull-base surgery.
Related Concept Videos
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure
Suctioning the Nasopharyngeal Airway
Equipment Required
Epistaxis
Etiology
Possible causes of this condition include high blood pressure, trauma, low humidity, upper respiratory tract infections, allergies, foreign bodies, nasal inhalation of corticosteroids or illicit drugs, excessive use of decongestant nasal sprays, facial or nasal surgery, anatomic malformation, tumors, or systemic...

