Usefulness of Unilateral Nasal Packing for Recurred Septal Deviation within a Month after Septoplasty: Preliminary Study

Septoplasty is one of the most common procedures for treating septal deviation. However, there is a discrepancy between the opinion that septoplasty is an easy operation, and the relatively high failure and complication rates associated with this procedure. The success rates for septoplasty reported in the literature range from 43 to 85%and vary depending upon the tool used to measure the surgical outcomes. There are few treatment options for correcting recurrent septal deviation after septoplasty aside from medical treatment or revision septoplasty. Moreover, revision septoplasty is difficult to perform because mucosal re-dissection is more difficult and the complication rate is higher than that of primary septoplasty. Thus, recurrent septal deviation after septoplasty is a significant concern for surgeons. We hypothesized that since the bony-cartilageous junction is partially detached in patients with recurred septal deviation, unilateral nasal packing on the convex side could shift the septum to the midline. Herein, we investigated the effect of repeated unilateral nasal packing to correct recurred septal deviation soon after septoplasty.