Abstract
Based on the analysis of a single surgeon's consecutive cases, we present the incidence
of septoplasty complications and factors that contribute to the increased risk of
complications. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records from 1,506 patients
diagnosed with deviated nasal septum who underwent septoplasty by a single surgeon
from January 2003 until May 2020. The incidence of different complications was investigated.
Predisposing factors for specific complications were examined with univariate analysis.
The average age of patients was 35 (11–76) years. Out of 1,506 patients, 1,252 were
male, and 254 were female. The most frequent complication was insufficient correction
(78 cases, 5.2%), and revision septoplasty was performed in 21 cases. We also reported
59 (3.9%), 55 (3.7%), 33 (2.2%), 20 (1.3%), and 18 (1.2%) cases of olfactory dysfunction,
hematoma, synechia, abscess, and septal mucosal defect, respectively. Additionally,
there were nine (0.6%), six (0.4%), five (0.3%), four (0.3%), and four (0.3%) cases
of septal perforation, postoperative bleeding, saddle nose, chondritis, empty nose
syndrome, respectively. The proportion of insufficient correction was higher in revision
cases than in primary cases. Hematoma formation, abscess formation, and septal mucosal
defect occurred more frequently in the bilateral flap elevation group. Olfactory dysfunction
was significantly more frequent when the bony batten was inserted, while hematoma,
abscess formation, and septal mucosal defect were more frequent when the cartilage
batten was used. Septoplasty was associated with the risk of several complications,
while complication rates were influenced by choice of surgical techniques and approaches.
Keywords
septoplasty - complications - bilateral flap elevation - batten graft
