Low-Intensity Laser Therapy As a Method to Reduce Stress Responses after Septoplasty

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) to minimize acute pain in the early postoperative period in patients after septoplasty. In total, 62 patients underwent septoplasty under general anesthesia (40 men and 22 women, 18-44 years old) followed by nasal tamponade. Patients of the 1st group did not undergo PBMT, and patients of the 2nd group received PBMT 3, 6, and 24 h after septoplasty (infrared pulsed laser radiation, λ = 0.890 μm, P = 10 W, 2 min in the projection of the wings of the nose). After 48 h, after the removal of tampons, intranasal PBMT with a nozzle in the red range, with λ = 0.63 μm, P = 8 mW, 2 min. ULF, HF, LF, and total power of heart rate variability (HRV), pain syndrome was assessed. ULF, LF, HF, total HRV power were significantly lower in group 2, compared to group 1. In the period from 6 to 24 h after septoplasty, patients of group 1 experienced higher pain than patients with PBMT (p < 0.001). The use of PBMT after septoplasty against the background of nasal tamponade helps to reduce the severity of pain syndrome and the inflammatory response to surgical stress and, consequently, leads to less pronounced changes in the autonomic nervous system in response to surgical stress.