Septal Perforation Repair Using Bilateral Rotational Flaps With Interposed Mastoid Periosteal Graft

To evaluate the outcomes of endonasal repair of septal perforations utilizing opposing bilateral rotational flaps and a periosteum interposition graft.

Retrospective review of a single surgeon, tertiary referral center experience of patients who underwent septal perforation repair. Patient demographics, etiology of perforation, closure rate, and complication data were obtained. Patients screening positively for cocaine use or anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) were not offered repair.

A total of 104 patients were included, 65 male and 39 female with mean age of 45.4 years. Etiology of perforations included prior surgery in 45, trauma in 15, and unknown in 44, and the average perforation size in each etiologic group were 1.35 cm, 1.25 cm, and 1.30 cm, respectively. The greatest dimension of perforations repaired ranged from 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm. The overall success rate was 87.5% at 6 month follow-up. Successful closure was achieved in 95.6%, 86.7%, and 79.5%, respectively (χ²  = 5.264, P = .0218).

Our described technique is a reliable endonasal approach with predictable outcomes in septal perforations up to 1.5 cm in size. Having an unknown etiology of septal perforation may be a risk factor for failure.

4 Laryngoscope, 131:1497-1500, 2021.