RHINOLOGY The comparison of the quality of life and intranasal edema between the patients with or without nasal packing after septoplasty B. Kayahan 1 • S. Ozer 2 • A. E. Suslu 2 • O. Ogretmenoglu 3 • M. Onerci 2 Received: 29 September 2016 / Accepted: 21 November 2016 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Septoplasty is one of the most common opera- tions performed in otolaryngology and anterior nasal packing is done routinely to prevent postoperative bleed- ing, septal hematoma or nasal synechia. Currently, transseptal sutures have gained a broader application area, not only for preventing the complications such as septal hematoma and bleeding but also closing any accidental tears of septal mucosa and providing additional support for the cartilage pieces retained in septoplasty. We evaluated the quality of life of the patients in early postoperative period (in the first postoperative week), intranasal edema with endoscopic examination and the intranasal changes with acoustic rhinometry. We performed a prospective and randomized study with patients undergoing septoplasty without inferior turbinectomy. As packing material, there were two groups: in group A, gauze in a glove finger and in group B, Doyle splint were used, and in the additional group C, only transseptal suture with 4/0 vicryl among the cartilaginous septum was performed. The patients were invited to control examinations on the postoperative 2nd, 4th and 7th days to evaluate the scores from 1 to 5 on the questionnaire for the pain, nasal fullness, sneezing, epi- phora, difficulty in swallowing and sleep disturbances. The patients were also administered an endoscopic nasal examination for the purpose of detecting the intranasal edema, and acoustic rhinometry was performed during the control examinations to detect the intranasal changes. Total occluding packing was found to cause much more frequent and higher scores of epiphora, sneezing, difficulty in swallowing, but mainly, the pain compared to in silicone packing with airway and transseptal suture only. Although the silicone packing with airway was found to be much more comfortable, it also led to sneezing and epiphora. The patients without nasal packing had more comfortable pe- riod especially in the early postoperative days (the first 4 days). However, 1 week after surgery, groups with and without nasal packing were found to be equalized on behalf of the objective and subjective parameters. As any com- plication was not observed due to not using nasal packing, it is thought that nasal packing usage following septoplasty is not a necessity. Keywords Septoplasty Á Nasal packing Á Edema Á Rhinometry Á Quality of life Introduction Septoplasty is one of the most common operations per- formed in otolaryngology and anterior nasal packing is done routinely to prevent postoperative bleeding, septal hematoma or nasal synechiae [1]. In addition to the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support its benefit, anterior nasal packing is not an innocuous procedure, either. Its may lead to discomfort, pain, nasal mucosal trauma, epiphora, sneezing, discomfort in swallowing, sleep disturbances, local infections and, very rarely, toxic shock syndrome, displacement with aspiration and vagal reflex [1–4]. Moreover, there are various types of materials used for nasal packing and there is no consensus in the & B. Kayahan baharkayahan@hotmail.com 1 Ear Nose Throat-Head and Neck Surgery Clinic, Etimesgut Sait Ertu ¨rk State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey 2 Ear Nose Throat-Head and Neck Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 3 Ear Nose Throat-Head and Neck Surgery Clinic, Liv Hospital, Ankara, Turkey 123 Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol DOI 10.1007/s00405-016-4403-9