National report — Septorhinoplasty with potassium titanyl phosphate laser results in significant subjective improvements in breathing, according to a new study.
Researchers with Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Hills, Calif., and New York University School of Medicine, New York, retrospectively examined subjective breathing scores and acoustic rhinometry before septorhinoplasty and six to nine months after the procedure in 31 patients, HealthDay News reports.
The researchers noted a significant overall mean subjective improvement in breathing scores of 38 percent. The overall mean volume increased and the overall resistance decreased, but the changes were significant only on the right side.
Results were similar in groups of patients stratified based on other procedures, including spreader grafts and alar batten grafts, and did not differ in the absence of osteotomies. Patients with severe obstruction achieved the greatest improvement in all measured values, including in minimal cross-sectional area (MCA), which improved by an average of 55 percent.
“Septorhinoplasty increases nasal volume, decreases nasal resistance, and advances the MCA anteriorly,” the authors concluded. “These changes coexist with subjective improvements in nasal patency, which suggests that this new anatomic configuration creates a positive outcome on nasal airflow.”
The study was published online Sept. 10 in Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
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