Effects of Silicone Nasal Septal Splints and a Polyvinyl Alcohol Sponge After Septoplasty on Postoperative Pain and Pain During Pack Removal

Abstract

Objective: To compare silicone nasal septal splints with integral airway and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge after septoplasty in terms of patient comfort (both with the pack in place and during removal) and postoperative complications. Methods: This study involved 169 patients who underwent septoplasty without additional nasal procedures due to nasal septal deviation. They were allocated into two groups. Group A comprised 90 patients who underwent septoplasty and who were packed with silicone nasal septal splints. Group B comprised 76 patients who underwent septoplasty and who were packed with a PVA sponge. They were removed on the second postoperative day. Patients were asked to record pain levels using a visual analog scale (VAS). Results: The patients in the groups had similar mean ages: 29.77 years (range, 19-74 years) and 23.77 years (range, 21-37 years) in Group A and Group B, respectively (p>0.05). VAS scores were significantly lower in Group A than in Group B at the 1 st , 2 nd , 4 th , 8 th , 12 th , 24 th , 48 th , and 72 nd postoperative hours (p<0.0001). There were significantly higher pain levels associated with PVA sponge pack removal than with silicone nasal septum splint removal (average pain scores: 3.57 vs. 1.99, respectively; p<0.05). Conclusion: Intranasal septal splints with integral airway result in less postoperative pain during removal without increasing postoperative complications; thus, they can be used as an effective alternative to PVA sponge packing after septoplasty.

A comparative study on the effects of intranasal silicone splints and silastic sheets on breathing post septal surgeries

“…This could be attributed to that most patients with external deformity also complain of some degree of nasal obstruction. These findings were similar to those in Ersozlu et al [13], in which the main complaint was nasal obstruction, although septorhinoplasty cases were not included in their study.…”