THE NASAL SEPTUM: PLASTIC REPAIR OF THE DEVIATED SEPTUM ASSOCIATED WITH A DEFLECTED TIP

The importance of the nasal septum in man is self evident to the rhinologist. It divides the nasal cavity into two lateral passageways and thus forms the mesial wall of each nasal fossa. It also determines the line of the nasal dorsum. In primitive races and in Caucasian children the nasal septum is usually straight and symmetric, but among Caucasian adults it frequently deviates. This deviation usually concerns the cartilage and the ethmoid portion, leaving the vomer normal or nearly so. Schaeffer1considered the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone (mesethmoid), which forms the cephalic third of the septum, of particular interest in septal deviation. The extent of the mesethmoid is variable, and the septal cartilage is correspondingly large or small. During fetal life, infancy and early childhood, the nasal septum is usually symmetric and occupies the midline throughout its extent. Asymmetry has, however, been seen in early childhood, and