An observational cohort study of the effects of septoplasty with or without inferior turbinate reduction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

BackgroundThe objective of this observational study was to evaluate the outcomes of intranasal surgery in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a single institution in Norway.MethodsFifty-nine patients with OSA and clinically significant nasal obstruction underwent either septoplasty alone or septoplasty with concomitant volume reduction of the turbinates from August 2008 until the end of December 2010. Subjects were scheduled for sleep polygraphy before and 3 months after treatment.In this observational single-centre cohort study we evaluated and compared the effect of these two specific surgical procedures on sleep related parameters.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) only in the group that had septoplasty with turbinate reduction (17.4, (SD 14.4) – 11.7, (SD 8.2), p <0.01), and this effect was significantly better than in the group treated with septoplasty alone. Other objective parameters remained unchanged. Subjective assessments obtained with a postoperative questionnaire showed an equally positive effect on diurnal sleepiness and nasal obstruction in both groups, and a better effect on sleep quality in the combined treatment group.ConclusionThe effect of nasal surgery on obstructive sleep apnea seemed to be greater when there were indications for combined surgery of the inferior turbinates and the nasal septum, compared to when there were indications for septoplasty alone.

Sinonasal outcomes in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

“…Other investigators have emphasized that the goal of nasal surgery is typically not to directly address the obstructive portion of the upper airway (i.e., retropalatal or retrolingual), but to improve overall airflow and compliance for nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy . Such interventions have been shown to improve quality of life postoperatively . Correlation of improvement or change in polysomnographic variables with SNOT‐22 scores in those patients who undergo septal and/or turbinate surgery would thus be interesting.…”

“…14,15 Such interventions have been shown to improve quality of life postoperatively. 16,17 Correlation of improvement or change in polysomnographic variables with SNOT-22 scores in those patients who undergo septal and/or turbinate surgery would thus be interesting.…”

Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Sleep Dysfunction Undergoing Endoscopic Sinus Surgery

“…In addition, inferior turbinate reduction alone has no significant effect on AHI compared with combined septoplasty with inferior turbinate reduction in patients with OSA. 37 Furthermore, this study did not evaluate differences in the frequency of patients undergoing simultaneous therapeutic management for comorbid OSA using continuous positive airway pressure, nor adherence to use of continuous positive airway pressure during the study. This study also did not include a control cohort, so we cannot fully exclude the influence of either placebo effects, the natural history of disease, or regression to the mean of reported outcomes scores.…”

High‐order ghost‐point immersed boundary method for viscous compressible flows based on summation‐by‐parts operators

“…In this study, a medical image (cf Figure A) was provided by the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at St. Olavs Hospital, the university hospital in Trondheim, Norway. The computed tomography (CT) image is for patient number 12 in the study by Moxness and Nordgård, a 67‐year‐old man who showed great improvement in apnea hypopnea index after a septum plastic surgery in the nasal cavity such that he is no longer diagnosed with OSAS. In this study, the cross‐section of the upper airway from the nasopharynx to the laryngopharynx is considered for investigation as shown in Figure A in dark green.…”