Which inferior turbinate reduction technique best decreases nasal obstruction?

Long‐term outcomes in medial flap inferior turbinoplasty are superior to submucosal electrocautery and submucosal powered turbinate reduction

“…1 Since the first surgical treatment of the hypertrophied inferior turbinate in 1895, many techniques have been described and considerable debate continues as to the most effective method. 2,3 Debate exists on the longterm effectiveness of procedures such as electrocautery and laser reduction. 4,5 These techniques rely on tissue ablation to create volume reduction.…”

Identifying patients who may benefit from inferior turbinate reduction using computer simulations

“…Hanna and colleagues reported that lateral outfracture of the IT resulted in inconsistent morphological changes affecting the IT shape, size, and position. Larrabee and Kacker reviewed level 1 evidence studies (prospective, randomized trials) and concluded that, due to the lack of randomized trials comparing multiple surgical techniques, no surgical technique can be decisively selected as the best at reducing symptoms of nasal obstruction. Although various surgical techniques may result in a similar morphological shape, some procedures may cause mucosal injury, resulting in impaired nasal function .…”

“…Chronic nasal airway obstruction (NAO) is an unpleasant condition characterized by subjective sensation of breathing difficulty, which is often caused by hypertrophy of the inferior turbinate (IT) . For patients whose symptoms persist after attempted medical therapy, surgical correction of the affected turbinate is often considered . However, no standard criteria are available to select which patients may benefit from IT reduction .…”

“…There are many techniques available to the surgeon to perform IT reduction, including partial or total turbinectomy, microdebrider‐assisted inferior turbinoplasty, outfracture, submucosal resection, and radiofrequency‐assisted turbinoplasty, among others . A number of these different techniques can be used interchangeably to arrive at a similar anatomical shape of the turbinate postsurgery.…”

Evidence and evidence gaps in therapies of nasal obstruction and rhinosinusitis

“…Hypertrophy of the nasal turbinates is another common cause of chronic nasal obstruction [84]. The aetiology of hypertrophy of nasal turbinates is variable, including amongst others allergic rhinitis, non-allergic rhinitis, chronic hypertrophic rhinitis, and compensatory turbinate hypertrophy.…”