A polylactic acid copolymer implant safely and effectively supported lateral cartilage in patients with nasal valve collapse, according to a study by German researchers.
The product is the LATERA absorbable nasal implant (Spirox).
Researchers studied 30 adults with extreme or severe nasal valve collapse symptoms. They placed a total 56 LATERA implants in the study subjects (26 received implants on both sides of the nose). They assessed patients at one week and one, three, six and 12 months postop.
They found that while the mean preoperative Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) instrument score was 76.7, the mean NOSE score at 12 months postop was 35.2. The average NOSE score reduction was 48.4 at three months; 43.3 at six months and 40.9 at one year. All were statistically significant reductions.
More than three-quarters of patients reported having at least one NOSE class improvement or a NOSE score reduction of at least 20%, according to the abstract results.
The researchers found no adverse changes in cosmetic appearance at one year postop. Three implants in three patients needed to be taken out within 30 days after the procedure, but resulted in no clinical consequences, according to the study.
"These results are very promising, as they demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the LATERA implant and provide an optimal approach for correcting a common cause of nasal obstruction," Marion San Nicoló, MD, University Clinic of Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and principal investigator in the study said in a Spirox press release. "I believe that the LATERA implant is an important advance that has the potential to transform the treatment of [nasal valve collapse]."
