Objective: To present results from a clinical series of patients who underwent office-based laser nasal septal cartilage reshaping.
Design: Nonrandomized prospective clinical trial.
Setting: Outpatient university-based otolaryngology clinic.
Patients: One hundred ten patients aged 11 to 66 years with symptomatic nasal obstruction due to septal deviation.
Intervention: Topical anesthesia (10% lidocaine solution) was applied to the nasal cavity. The septum was then mechanically straightened using a modified nasal speculum, and it was secured in a median position. Laser energy from a holmium:YAG laser was delivered via an optical fiber to the septum along the regions of maximum mechanical stress. Irradiation was delivered through the mucosa.
Main outcome measures: A subjective survey, rhinoscopy, and rhinomanometry in 110 patients before and after surgery.
Results: Eighty-four patients (76%) showed stable improvement in airways and disappearance of the attendant symptoms. The average duration of follow-up was 18 months.
Conclusions: This technique uses local, nondestructive laser irradiation to reshape septal deviations without the use of mucoperichondrial flaps or sedation.