Surgery of the inferior nasal turbinates

The inferior turbinates are responsible for nasal obstruction more often than commonly thought. When there is no other obvious cause or nasal obstruction, and when allergic disorder or other medical condition is not responsible, attention should be given to treatment of the inferior turbinates in many instances of nasal obstruction. Such treatment is usually surgical and may consist of submucous resection of the turbinate bone or excision of redundant hyperplastic turbinate tissue, or a combination of the two. Other treatments consist of electrocautery or cryotherapy. Injection of corticosteroids have produced blindness through embolism and, in general, this treatment is discouraged. The paper discusses in some detail which patients are best suited for submucous resection and which for excision of soft tissue. Techniques, which are simple, are also described.