Efficacy and safety of inferior turbinate coblation-channeling in the treatment of nasal obstructions.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of coblation-channeling in the treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The study was conducted in the Department of ENT Head and Neck Surgery, Split University Hospital Center, Split, Croatia. Fifty-two patients with inferior turbinate hypertrophy who were refractory to medical therapy were evaluated for coblation. The procedures were performed under local anesthesia using an ArthroCare ReFlexUltra 45 wand; three submucosal channels were made per turbinate. Clinical examinations, a questionnaire on individual nasal symptoms (hyposmia, nasal drainage and post-nasal drip), a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) grading general nasal obstructions, and rhinomanometry before and 8 weeks after the treatment were administered to assess treatment outcomes. No adverse effects were encountered. Nasal breathing was significantly improved in all patients, decreasing the VAS from a median of 7 (range 2-9) to 1 (range 0-3) (p < 0.001). Total nasal resistance decreased from 0.44 Pa +/- 0.50 to 0.24 Pa +/- 0.11 (p = 0.005). Improvement was statistically significant for all three symptoms (hyposmia [p = 0.005], nasal drainage [p = 0.003] and post-nasal drip [p < 0.001]). In this paper, we demonstrate that coblation-channeling of the hypertrophic inferior turbinate is an effective and safe way to reduce nasal obstruction symptoms.