The Discrepancy Between Subjective and Objective Findings After Septoplasty

INTRODUCTION Surgical and medical treatments of nasal obstruction are a common parts of otolaryngologist practice. The definitive treatment of deviated nasal septum is septoplasty. AIM In this study was to evaluate the values of subjective parameters, and active anterior rhinomanometry parameters prior and three months after the septoplasty. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed the subjective parameters ("NOSE" scale), the active anterior rhinomanometry parameters according to International Committee on Standardization of Rhinomanometry, on 40 patients. Thirty healthy adult volunteers participated belonged to the control group. None of the patients or healthy volunteers had previous history of nasal surgery or active rhinological disease. RESULTS The post-operative improvement in symptoms of nasal obstruction obtained in 92,5% patients and improvement parameters of the active anterior rhinomanometry in 42,5% patients. CONCLUSION The correlation between the findings with rhinomanometry and subjective sensation of nasal patency remains uncertain. There still seems to be only a limited argument for the use of rhinomanometry for quantifying surgical results. Three months postoperative findings are very early results to interpret the permanent effects.