Objective: To measure the dimensions, composition, and possible structural and/or histopathological changes of the compensatory hypertrophic inferior turbinate in patients with deviated nasal septum. Study Design: A prospective, nonrandomized, and morphometric study. Methods: Nineteen patients with deviated nasal septum and compensatory hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate in the contralateral nasal cavity underwent surgery for correction of nasal obstruction. Patients' specimens were compared with those of a control group consisting of 10 inferior turbinates removed at autopsy. Quantitative measurements of the inferior turbinate histological sections were carried out and included the width of the layers and morphometric calculations of the relative proportions of the soft tissue constituents. Also, qualitative study was performed to detect pathological changes. Results: Of all layers, the inferior turbinate bone underwent a twofold increase in thickness and manifested the most significant expansion (P <.001), whereas the contribution of the mucosal layers to the inferior turbinate hypertrophy was modest. The morphometric analysis revealed a larger proportion of venous sinusoids in hypertrophic turbinates, but the difference was small and statistically insignificant. Qualitative assessment disclosed normal mucosal architecture in all inferior turbinates with compensatory hypertrophy. Eleven remained intact, while eight disclosed mild to moderate pathological changes. Conclusions: The data gathered in the present study are of importance to the decision-making process regarding turbinate surgery. The significant bone expansion and the relative minor role played by the mucosal hypertrophy would support the decision to excise the inferior turbinate bone at the time of septoplasty. Key Words: Compensatory hypertrophic inferior turbinate, deviated nasal septum, histopathology, septoplasty, turbinectomy.

No abstract

A prospective study of hearing loss in 120 cases with non-explosive blast injury of the ear, gathered over a six-year period, is presented. Thirty-three (27.5 per cent) patients had normal hearing, 57 (47.5 per cent) conductive hearing loss, 29 (24.2 per cent) mixed loss and one (0.8 per cent) had pure sensorineural loss. The severity of conductive hearing loss correlated with the size of the eardrum perforation; only a marginal difference was found between water and air pressure injuries, with respect to this type of hearing loss. Of all locations, perforations involving the posterior-inferior quadrant of the eardrum were associated with the largest air-bone gap. Audiometric assessment revealed that none of the patients suffered ossicular chain damage. Three patterns of sensorineural hearing loss were identified: a dip at a single frequency, two separate dips, and abnormality of bone conduction in several adjacent high frequencies. Involvement of several frequencies was associated with a more severe hearing loss than a dip in a single frequency. Healing of the perforation was always accompanied by closure of the air-bone gap, while the recovery of the sensorineural hearing loss was less favourable.

In selected cases, AT can be a less invasive option in children with cholesteatoma limited to the attic and middle ear.