In order to determine the efficacy of Coblation inferior turbinate reduction for obstructive inferior turbinate hypertrophy, we conducted a prospective study of 31 adult patients undergoing treatment with the Coblation technique. Patients with symptomatic inferior turbinate hypertrophy unresponsive to medical management were assessed preoperatively with a symptom-directed questionnaire and the Rhinosinusitis Symptom Inventory (RSI). Patients then underwent office-based inferior turbinate reduction under local anesthesia with the Coblation technique. Postoperative assessments were conducted at 6 wk and 3 mo after the procedure. Complications of the procedure and pain scores were also tabulated. Thirty patients completed the Coblation treatment. Preoperative symptom scores for degree of nasal obstruction, time with nasal obstruction, nasal congestion, and overall severity of nasal symptoms were 3.5, 3.7, 3.2, and 3.6, respectively (Likert scale, 1-5). The mean changes in symptom variables at 6 wk were -0.8, -0.8, -0.8, and -1.0, respectively, whereas the mean changes at 3 mo were -1.4, -1.0, -0.7, and -1.4, respectively. Each of these reductions in symptoms was statistically significant (p < .025) at both 6 weeks and 3 months except for nasal congestion (p = .11 at 3 mo). Reductions in the facial, systemic and overall symptom domains of the RSI were noted at 6 weeks, but these improvements lessened at 3 mo postprocedure. Epistaxis occurred in one patient; narcotic pain requirements were minimal. These results indicate that Coblation inferior turbinate reduction is an effective treatment for the obstructive nasal symptoms associated with inferior turbinate hypertrophy.
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