Treating Symptomatic Midvault Soft Tissue Collapse in Revision Rhinoplasty with a Nasal Wall Implant

Persistent nasal airway obstruction (NAO) due to midvault soft tissue collapse in patients following rhinoplasty or nasal surgery is a clinical challenge for surgeons. An absorbable lateral nasal wall implant is one option available to help treat midvault soft tissue collapse and to improve NAO symptoms. Previous studies have not investigated its use in complex revision functional rhinoplasty with respect to patient-reported outcomes. Data were collected on all patients with a history of previous nasal procedures who underwent Latera implant placement in conjunction with functional rhinoplasty from January to December 2018. The Nasal Obstructive Symptom Evaluation and Visual Analogue Scale were used to evaluate functional outcomes. Eight implants were placed in 6 revision functional rhinoplasty patients with midvault collapse. All patients responded to the survey. Mean follow-up was 16 ± 4 months. There were no implant-related adverse events. Mean Nasal Obstructive Symptom Evaluation score was 33 ± 33, and mean Visual Analogue Scale score was 20 ± 9. In total, 1 patient reported complete resolution of NAO, whereas 2 patients reported mild, 1 reported moderate, 1 reported severe, and 1 reported extreme symptoms. Four of the 6 patients reported nasal obstruction improvement, with all reporting improvement in midvault soft tissue collapse. Apart from being used in nasal valve collapse treatment, a lateral nasal wall implant is a potentially useful solution that may help surgeons improve patients' NAO symptoms in complex functional rhinoplasty cases. However, in certain cases, a patient's nasal obstructive symptoms may continue to be multifactorial.