Safety and efficacy of extraturbinal microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty in children

Abstract

Abstract Background Nasal obstruction is commonly seen in children and can be caused by a variety of factors. Turbinate hypertrophy has become a more frequent entity in pediatric patients presenting with nasal obstruction. Aim This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of extraturbinal microdebrider-assisted inferior turbinoplasty (MAIT) in relieving inferior turbinate hypertrophy in children. Patients and methods This prospective study was conducted from May 2016 to May 2017 in a tertiary referral hospital. Fifty pediatric patients with chronic hypertrophic rhinitis were enrolled in the study. We tried the extraturbinal MAIT technique to reduce inferior turbinate size. The degree of nasal obstruction was assessed using subjective, clinical symptom grading tools, visual analogue scale, and saccharin clearance test at 1 and 6 months postoperatively. Any postoperative complications were also noted. Results Mean age of patients were 12.7±9.5 years (range: 6–18 years). Significant postoperative improvement (P<0.001) was noted in the degree of nasal obstruction in 1 month and was maintained after a follow-up period of 6 months. Majority of patients had minimal crusting with good tissue healing with no adhesions or atrophic changes and with significant improvement of saccharin clearance time at 6 months postoperatively. Conclusion Extraturbinal MAIT is an effective and safe procedure in children compared with other reported procedures.