State-of-the-art: septal perforation repair

To provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the different techniques described for the surgical repair of nasal septal perforation, and a surgical decision-making algorithm for its surgical treatment.

Septal perforation surgery has evolved and improved in recent years. It has gone from being an avoided or discouraged surgical procedure to a procedure with success rates of >90%. Nowadays, there is no standard approach or single technique. The different techniques described include unilateral random pattern flaps, interposition grafts, unilateral pedicle septal local flaps, free mucosal grafts and bilateral random patter flaps. The incidence of success is higher in pediculated septal flaps such as the anterior ethmoidal artery flap or the greater palatine artery pedicled flap combined with additional techniques.

Nowadays, surgical closure of septal perforation is possible and should be an option to consider in symptomatic patients without response to medical treatment. The surgical approach that we recommend when planning the surgical closure of nasal septum (or nasoseptal) perforation is based on the osseocartilaginous support and the location of the defect.