Long-term effect of radiofrequency ablation treatment for inferior turbinate hypertrophy

Objective To evaluate the long-term effect of radiofrequency volumetric tissue reduction(RFVTR)in the treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy.Methods RFVTR under nasal endoscope was applied to 57 patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy.All the patients were followed up for 12 months postoperatively.Visual analog scale(VAS)and nasal endoscopic examination were carried out to all cases before and 12 months after operation.Results Nasal obstruction was relieved in most patients(54/57)at 12 months after treatment.The VAS and nasal endoscopic examination showed significant differences between the results before operation and those of 12 months after operation.Conclusion RFVTR is an effective alternative for the treatment of nasal obstruction due to inferior turbinate hypertrophy,but inapplicable to bony hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate.