Postoperative Outcomes of Anterior Nasal Packing in Rhinoplasty: A Comparative Study

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Surgical Outcomes Research

Background:

• Rhinoplasty is a common plastic surgery with potential complications.
• Nasal packing is frequently used post-rhinoplasty, but its benefits are debated.
• Optimizing recovery and minimizing complications are key goals in rhinoplasty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of bilateral anterior nasal packing on early recovery after rhinoplasty.
• To determine if nasal packing reduces complications like edema, obstruction, or bleeding.
• To assess the effect of nasal packing on periorbital ecchymosis and edema.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 64 rhinoplasty patients from January to December 2023.
• Comparison between 20 patients with short-term nasal packing and 44 patients without.
• Outcomes assessed included ecchymosis, edema, nasal obstruction, septal hematomas, and epistaxis.

Main Results:

• The nasal packing group showed significantly higher periorbital ecchymosis at postoperative day 7 (P = 0.017).
• No significant differences were observed in periorbital edema (P = 0.471) or nasal obstruction (P = 0.172).
• While epistaxis and septal hematomas occurred in 10% of the packing group, these were not statistically significant compared to the non-packing group (P = 0.175).

Conclusions:

• Bilateral anterior nasal packing significantly increases bruising (ecchymosis) after rhinoplasty.
• Nasal packing did not demonstrate a reduction in edema, nasal obstruction, epistaxis, or septal hematomas.
• The findings suggest that nasal packing may not be beneficial and could potentially be avoided in rhinoplasty recovery.