Comparison on the Effectiveness and Safety of Transseptal Suturing Versus Intranasal Splints After Septoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundThe application of transseptal suturing as an alternative to intranasal splints in preventing postoperative complications, such as synechia, and maintaining nasal septal stability following Septoplasty, remains controversial. This meta-analysis aims to systematically compare the effectiveness and safety of transseptal suturing with intranasal splints after Septoplasty.MethodsA comprehensive systematic literature review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted. The review included randomized clinical trials (RCTs) identified through a database search in July 2023, comparing postoperative complications following Septoplasty with the transseptal suturing technique versus intranasal splints.ResultsEight published RCTs involving 570 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis revealed no significant difference between the transseptal suturing and intranasal splint techniques following Septoplasty in postoperative complications, including postoperative hemorrhage, synechia, septal hematoma, septal perforation, local infection, crusting, and residual septal deviation.ConclusionsTransseptal suturing can be applied following Septoplasty as an alternative to intranasal splints without increasing the rate of postoperative complications.Level of Evidence IThis journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266