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Another advantage of nasal septal suturing: pulmonary function unaffected. Background: Nasal packing (NP) after septoplasty has some negative aspects. The nasal septal suture (NSS) is therefore becoming increasingly preferred.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of NSS and NP on pulmonary function tests.
Methods: Sixty patients who suffered from nasal blockage resulting from nasal septal deviation and who were otherwise healthy were included. Patients were randomized into two groups, NP or NSS. Pre-operative spirometry was performed for all patients. The NP group received a finger glove packing for two days after septoplasty, whereas no additional dressing was used for the NSS group. Narcotic analgesics were not used for pain relief after septoplasty in either group. Spirometry was performed post-operatively on the third day for all patients and before removal of the NP for the NP group.
Results: We observed statistically significant differences between pre-operative and post-operative values of forced vital capacity (FVC; p = 0.008), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1; p = 0.006), and forced expiratory flow ((FEF)25-75%; p = 0.011) in the NP group. In comparison, pre-operative and post-operative values did not differ for FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC%, and FEF25-75% in the NSS group.
Conclusion: NP negatively influenced pulmonary function based on spirometric parameters, while NSS did not.