WHICH IS BETTER- CONVENTIONAL NASAL PACKING VS INTRANASAL SPLINT IN SEPTOPLASTY?

Abstract

Background: Septoplasty is a frequently performed rhinologic surgery. The surgery is followed by nasal packing or intranasal splinting. This study was done to compare these two procedures in terms of effectiveness, postoperative discomfort and complications.
Materials and methods: A prospective comparative study was done over a period of two years, 48 patients were included and alternatively selected for splint and nasal packing .Patients were compared on basis of postoperative discomfort in terms of nasal pain, headache, epiphora, cheek swelling, epistaxis, foreign body sensation in throat, complications like septal perforation, septal hematoma, synechiae etc. Data were collected and analysed statistically.
Results: Post operatively nasal pain, headache, epiphora, cheek swelling, hypoxic spell, foreign body sensation in the throat, epistaxis, synechia, septal perforation, and septal hematoma were found to be reduced in patients who underwent intranasal splint when compared with nasal packing, deeming it to be a superior choice as compared to nasal packing.
Conclusion: Intranasal splint reduces nasal packing related problems and post-operative complication, without significantly increasing the duration of surgery. Hence from our study, we have gathered enough evidence to state that intra nasal splint would be a better choice to intranasal pack in septoplasty considering the patient’s comfort and lesser postoperative complications.
Keywords: Intranasal splint, Nasal packing, Septoplasty